


Butterfly Boy

by EIRI-CHICK (RyuichiSakuma)



Category: Gravitation
Genre: Academy, Bullying, Child Abuse, Dancing and Singing, High School, I swear this has more chapters finished than are posted here, M/M, Mother-Son Relationship, MxM - Freeform, Nittle Grasper, Period-Typical Homophobia, School Uniforms, Underage sexual activity, personality change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2017-12-16 00:17:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/855624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuichiSakuma/pseuds/EIRI-CHICK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The creation of Japan's supergroup...and the shy little boy that learned to fly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Track One: Egg

**Author's Note:**

> I figured that since Gravitation is supposed to have happened around 1996, that Tohma, Ryuichi and Noriko were children of the 1980s, so that's when this story takes place.
> 
> I think I just gave away my age. *facepalm* 
> 
> *~*~*~*~*  
> Japanese/explanations in this track:
> 
> ٭133.8cm and 25.5 kg equals to about 4’3” tall and 56 pounds, which is the size of the average Japanese ten year old.  
> ٭Tenshi - angel  
> ٭Bento - box lunch  
> ٭Senpai - elder, senior, predecessor  
> ٭Kohai – junior (in age, rank or position)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written in 2008CE

Excerpts from _‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock God’_ by Yuki Eiri

 

“… _he was just another beautiful soul waiting for a chance to fly. And he was given that chance with his band. I’ll forever be grateful for Tohma and Noriko for breaking my boy out of his shell. Too bad his father didn’t live to see that day.”_

 

Sakuma Manami, Sakuma Ryuichi’s mother

*~*~*

 

“ _I know he’s special. I knew it from the day he was born. He just needs to believe in himself…I can’t help him with that; he will have to discover that on his own.”_

 

Sakuma Natori, father-deceased, as remembered by Sakuma Manami

*~*~*

 

 

He used to prowl the halls of M. Academy, a shadow unnoticed as he went on errands both before and after classes for the teaching staff. Working off the difference between the money left from deceased father’s scholarship, Sakuma Ryuichi took messages, snacks, or packages to the rulers of the scholastic domain. Thus, he was frowned upon by most of the other first-year high school students he shared his class with.

 

Not that they would have spoken to him anyway, for who would waste their time speaking to one such as he? He already stood out as the smallest boy in both the high school and the affiliated middle school. At 133.8cm tall and 25.5 kg, the size of an average ten year old, he was already thought of as being a freak by others that towered over him. The fact that he rarely spoke had even the teachers thinking that he was a “little slow,” as it was kindly put when he was in earshot. Of course, behind his back, even those that he spoke to were unsure of what thoughts and emotions lay inside of the head of their mostly silent messenger boy.

 

Only one being ever heard the thoughts that lay inside of the head of “the quiet boy,” and that being was incapable of speech, being made of pink cloth and filled with cotton batting.

 

To Ryuichi, Kumagorou or Kuma, as the stuffed rabbit was affectionately called, was a treasure chest of wisdom. Full of ideas, comments and suggestions for the shy, mossy-haired sixteen-year-old, Kuma helped the boy survive the lonely and usually harsh school days. Of course the plushie had nothing to say to anyone other than Ryuichi even if anyone would have been within earshot.

 

“I wish I could be taller like the others, Kuma. I want to grow more, I’m tired of being so damn short,” Sakuma Ryuichi confided to the plushie bunny that hid inside of his ever-present leather bookbag as the teen carried a message from the physics teacher to the music teacher one sunny spring morning before classes.

 

The plushie rabbit voiced his opinion…even if Ryuichi didn’t want to hear it.

 

“You’re right Kuma…maybe I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet…but its sure taking forever,” Ryuichi sighed but acknowledged as he complained yet again to the worn plushie as he approached the door to the Music Room, note in hand.

 

The voices of the Music Club members were easily heard through the colorfully decorated wooden panel as his hand reached for the knob. Thus, when the door slid open unexpectedly and Ryuichi ran in to the chest of someone much taller, the teen was so surprised that he fell to the ground as the bookbag that Kumagorou was hidden in tumbled to the floor.

 

“I’m so sorry, are you all right, uh…” a pale, delicate hand reached down to help the startled boy. Ryuichi’s eyes made their way slowly upward to gaze at an angelic face that seemed to bear a golden halo. Blond hair that shone in the early morning sun, which chose just that moment to emerge from behind a cloud and shine through the Music Room’s windows.

 

Speechless, Ryuichi dropped the message, grabbed his bookbag and fled the scene; shocked at the image of the luminescent being that had seemingly reached down to help him up from his seat on the hallway floor.

 

Shiozu-sensei, the music teacher, having seen the entire exchange, only shooed off the occurrence when he was asked by the blond.

 

“That’s Sakuma Ryuichi-kun, the school messenger boy. He runs errands for us teachers before and after school. He’s more than likely a little slow, according to the school nurse. I bet that that future high school dropout will forget about this incident before the day’s over,” the cocky former minor rock star turned music teacher explained to the strikingly beautiful teen, who, since the sun had become hidden by a fluffy white cloud had become just another student, even with the naturally light blond hair that made him unique among the others in the school.

 

Despite the music teacher’s not so kind words, Ryuichi did not forget the platinum-haired boy that held out his hand to him as he sat upon the floor. Instead, the image of the beautiful teen had imprinted itself into his brain and most importantly his heart, never to leave, for to the smallest boy in the entire academy, it was the image of an angel.

 

A crack had appeared in the bashful egg that was Sakuma Ryuichi.

 

*~*~*~*~*

One rainy April day, Ryuichi stood just inside of one of the school’s many doorways, bracing himself for the wet walk home. He had lost his umbrella, or so he at first thought.

 

Instead, it had been stolen by one of his classmates while he had taken a restroom break. Arakaki Katashi had made it his duty to make school like miserable for Ryuichi ever since the small teen had accidentally spilled milk on the much larger boy while still in M Academy's middle school

 

“That idiot will probably think he left the house without it,” Arakaki said as he tried to justify his theft to the group of bullies that he headed. The others in the group snickered to themselves as they watched the teen look around the classroom for the missing item. As the last bell rang, the olive-haired boy spotted the missing item underneath the arm of the bully as the group left the classroom. Sighing to himself, Ryuichi instead resigned himself to walking in the cold rain, internally happy that at least Kuma had a dry place to be on the long walk home.

 

So there the small teen stood, just inside the school’s door as he watched the rain fall in sheets. Shoulders slumped, he tried to will himself to accept the idea of the cold water making its way down the collar of his uniform to snake its way down into his underwear and leave his most intimate parts sopping wet and his shoes squishing as he trudged home.

 

“Hmm, I see no umbrella. Would you like to share mine? It’s the least I can do…” a voice came up from behind the bashful teen as he stood blocking the doorway out. So lost in thought was he that he never heard the footsteps behind him.

 

Turning, Ryuichi once again saw the stunningly beautiful face of the second-year boy he had begun to think of as ‘my tenshi.’ Mouth agape, he didn’t hear the suggestion made to him as the much taller boy’s turquoise eyes stared into his own sapphire blue ones. The gaze caused heat to form in the belly of Ryuichi, who stood unable to speak as the blond smiled kindly and inclined his head.

 

“Whatever is the matter, kohai?” the golden-haired teen asked of Ryuichi, which forced the much smaller boy out of his shy stupor. As he began to run away once again from the platinum blond, he managed to make it to right outside the school gate before a muddy, uneven piece of sidewalk caused the small boy to trip and land in the puddle it had formed.

 

Hurrying over, the platinum-haired boy held his huge black umbrella over Ryuichi as he picked himself up and grabbed his bookbag, which had somehow managed to miss the puddle. Used to being bullied instead of the kindness of the angelic-looking teen was showing him, Ryuichi instead hugged his bookbag to his small chest, a perplexed expression on his now muddy face at the thoughtful action of the blond teen. Smiling, the much taller boy gently touched the much smaller Ryuichi on the shoulder, which caused him to jump and turn. Since he was standing in the muddy puddle, Ryuichi only managed to splash mud onto the legs of the blond’s uniform.

 

“At this rate, we’ll both be drenched and muddy by the time I walk you home. Where do you live?” the taller boy smiled as he asked Ryuichi, who hugged his bookbag even closer and began to walk. The blond boy nodded as his long legs easily kept up. Still holding the umbrella over them both, the pair walked together in the rain as they silently made their way to the front door Ryuichi‘s small apartment.

 

Stopping on the stoop, Ryuichi bowed low and patted his pockets as he searched for the key to unlock the front door before gazing up for a moment to look into the blond’s face and then back toward the way they had come.

 

Realizing that the smaller teen must have lost the key when he fell, the blond turned around and began to walk. “Coming?” he asked as Ryuichi stared at the door for a moment longer before he too turned around to make the long journey back to the school.

 

So together, they made their way back to the uneven sidewalk, not a word more said by either boy during the wet journey as the torrential rain tried its best to wash them both into the street the entire way.

 

Bending down, careful not to let his bookbag get any wetter, Ryuichi searched the mud puddle and the area around it for the missing key. Just as he was about to give up, a silver glint winked at him from just beyond it. The key, having flown from his pocket, had managed to fall into a crack in the sidewalk just beyond the puddle.

 

“You found it! Good job!” the blond said in a congratulatory manner as he beamed at the much shorter boy.

Ryuichi fished the key out of the crack and stuck it deep into his pocket before he turned and gazed once more up into the taller boy’s face.

 

The blond teen gasped in surprise, for upon Ryuichi’s face was the most brilliant smile he had ever seen. It only lasted the briefest of moments, but to the platinum-haired boy, it seemed to light up the otherwise dreary, miserable day.

 

As they once again made the long walk back to the smaller boy’s front door, the blond replayed the image of the smile in his mind’s eye over and over again, a treasure forever captured in his heart.

 

He never, ever would forget that first real smile.

 

*~*~*~*~*

From that day forth, the tall blond would rise early enough to walk Ryuichi to school, who often made boiled eggs to be shared with the tall teen on the long walk. The pair would often not speak, for it was comforting to both just to be in one another’s presence before they split off to their respective classrooms.

 

And at the end of the day, they would wait for each other after school and repeat the journey in reverse to Ryuichi’s doorstep, where the small boy would bow, the blond returning said bow and smiling kindly before making his way to his own doorstep, which was only a few streets from the school.

 

But that, he did not tell Ryuichi.

 

Unknown to the blond, his habit of walking the timid boy home every evening prevented him from being assaulted by Arakaki Katashi and the said-same group of boys that made it their duty to bring suffering to the smallest boy at M academy ever since he had enrolled in the middle school.

 

But that, he did not tell the beautiful teen.

 

But, unknown to Ryuichi, the golden boy had already known that. And had dealt with it in his own way.

 

But unbeknown to either of them, Arakaki vowed to get back at them both. How, he had no idea...yet.

 

*~*~*~*~*

After walking to his doorstep one afternoon a few weeks later, Ryuichi did not unlock his front door, bow and walk inside as was his custom. Instead, the shy boy shifted from one foot to the other as if nervous. Ever patient, the blond waited with bated breath to see what would happen.

 

“M...my name is Sakuma Ryuichi, senpai,” the much smaller boy stammered in a tiny voice that seemed to fit his diminutive stature before bowing low.

 

Echoing the bow, the blond smiled, wiping the unseen smile off of his face as he came back up.

 

“And I am Seguchi Tohma, Sakuma-san, ever at your service,” he replied as he stood up and smiled gently at his now-named friend.

 

Unknown to the mossy-haired teen, Tohma had remembered the smaller teen’s name when Shiozu had mentioned it the day Ryuich had bumped into him.

 

But that, he did not tell Ryuichi.

 

Once again Ryuichi gave him the brilliant smile, right before he ducked inside of the front door and Tohma turned to go. Making his way home, lost in thought that day, Tohma realized that his kind actions had broken through the shy boy’s shell. Smiling to himself the entire way home, he went into his bedroom and began his evening's homework.

 

Little did the blond know that Ryuichi was in the throws of first love.

 

The golden boy’s kindness and attention over their walks to and from school, not to mention his angelic beauty had caused the little teen to fall head over heels.

 

But that, he did not tell Tohma.

 

To offset the idea that he was in love with ‘his tenshi,’ the tiny lad got into the habit of spending what should have been study time writing his thoughts and feelings in a notebook. At first the feelings came out as thought fragments, but soon they evolved into song lyrics, usually about himself, his confusion, and his feelings about how he felt toward the platinum-haired boy.

 

The fact that he spent the time in his room pondering his emotions and writing in the notebook instead of doing homework and studying caused his already middle of the road test scores to drop further; a fact that caused Ichimura Manami, his mother, much consternation whenever she was shown a D or F on his homework, which she began to make her duty to ask about every evening right before Ryuichi's bedtime.

 

So to try and hide from her firey-tempered husband, Ichimura Kenji that her son was, in fact failing in school, she began to work as a housecleaner for a wealthy family in order to pay for an after-school tutor. She explained to Kenji that the teen was attending cram school, thus he gave his wife no arguments about her working. The tutoring helped to increase Ryuichi’s D- grades to C And even an occasional C+.

 

When Tohma found out that his new friend was doing pretty poorly in school, he offered to tutor Ryuichi instead of needing the after school teacher. The olive-haired boy flat-out refused. Tohma naturally assumed that it was because the introverted teen dreaded the idea of being in another boy’s bedroom. So instead, he offered to tutor Ryuichi at the local library near the school, to which the mossy-haired teen agreed.

 

But it wasn’t the idea of being in another boy's bedroom that had caused Ryuichi to balk. It was the idea of being in _Tohma’s_ bedroom, _alone_ with the beautiful teen often caused the small lad to have a rather physical reaction, which would cause him to need to relieve himself by masturbating…often.

 

Ryuichi was struggling, truly struggling, with the idea that his first love was another boy, however exquisite that boy may be.

 

*~*~*~*~*

One sunny May day, the pair met after school to begin the walk to Ryuichi’s doorstep. Tohma had seemed on edge every time Ryuichi saw the platinum-haired teen that day, especially noticing during lunch where, thought silent, they always ate together.

 

Not that anyone would have been able to notice the differences in Tohma, but Ryuichi, by now hiding the fact that he was head over heels in love with the golden boy, noticed them, however insignificant they may be to anyone else.

 

“Sakuma-kun, I would like to show you something, if it is okay with you,” the blond teen said, a light blush coloring his pale face as they walked together at the end of the school day. Since the show of any form of embarrassment from the normally confident older boy was unusual for Ryuichi to witness, he nodded silently, daring a sideways glance as they walked through the gate. Instead of taking the long walk toward the small apartment where the tiny boy lived, Tohma’s footsteps led them both to a spotlessly clean street near the school.

 

Following Tohma as the blond walked towards a very ornate gate behind which lay a very large home, Ryuichi read the placard on the outside gate wall. Reading the kanji for ‘Seguchi,’ the younger teen hid his surprise, as he had assumed that Tohma lived far away from the school in the same direction that his home lay.

 

Not saying anything, he waited as the platinum blond pulled on the well-oiled gate and motioned for him to enter. Stopping to wait for Tohma, Ryuichi couldn’t help but notice the huge yard with the painstakingly maintained landscaping, flowers making colorful patterns in the beds in which they lay.

 

 

Also not speaking, the blond teen led the way down the walk and onto the front doorstep. The door opened as if by magic, which startled the timid Ryuichi, who hid behind the much larger boy before he realized that it had been opened by a pretty woman dressed in a sky-blue French maid outfit.

 

“Welcome home, Seguchi-kun, and welcome guest,” she said as she smiled and bowed to the delicately beautiful teen before she took the bookbag that he handed to her. Gesturing, Tohma pointed to the maid as she waited to take Ryuichi’s bookbag. He hugged it and shook his head as if afraid to speak to them both, his sapphire eyes wide.

 

Shrugging, Tohma took off his shoes and placed his feet into a pair of turquoise slippers embroidered in gold with the kanji for Seguchi and indicated that the much smaller boy do the same into a pair of plain black ones as he shooed off the maid. Leading the way deeper into the house, Tohma smiled as he turned to make sure that his guest was following.

 

Ryuichi did, amazed at the artwork that decorated the walls, the marble floors, the expensive-looking statuary that seemed to make the huge house seem more like a museum than the home it was. He followed the golden boy into a large sunlit room in which a huge black grand piano sat.

 

As he watched Tohma sit on the bench, Ryuichi stood in the doorway as if afraid to enter such a fancy room, instead gazing around at the various and sundry awards, trophies, and musical instruments that resided within. Once again Tohma gestured for the olive-haired teen to come within the room, which he did reluctantly, taking a seat on the floor near the piano as if afraid to sit on one of the many overstuffed chairs and couches that were placed around for others to sit in as they were serenaded by musicians.

 

The golden boy pushed up the cover to the ebony keyboard and after first wiggling his fingers to warm them up a bit, he began to play. The classical music was unfamiliar to its only audience member, but seemed to soothe the one playing it, as he soon closed his eyes while he played, seemingly forgetting that there was someone listening. He played for quite some time, music that was so calming to the smaller teen that he sat, enraptured with a serene look in his azure eyes while the blond played.

 

When the beautiful pianist moved from classical music to opera, a small, clear voice began to sing along with the song being played, which caused the platinum-haired teen to open his eyes and look in surprise. Bursting forth from the throat of Tohma’s small guest was the song _‘Ave Maria,’_ which was the song he was currently playing on the piano’s ivory keys. The blond, ever the professional, did not pause in his playing, instead continued the performance while Ryuichi, who before had been sitting quietly on the floor listening to Tohma play, now stood next to the piano, his sapphire eyes closed while his normally small voice filled out and seemed to envelope them both in its rich sound, the bookbag laying on the floor as if forgotten.

 

_**Storck's translation -  
( Schubert's Ave Maria lyrics )**_

 

_Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild,_  
_Erhöre einer Jungfrau Flehen,_  
_Aus diesem Felsen starr und wild_  
_Soll mein Gebet zu dir hinwehen._  
_Wir schlafen sicher bis zum Morgen,_  
_Ob Menschen noch so grausam sind._  
_O Jungfrau, sieh der Jungfrau Sorgen,_  
_O Mutter, hör ein bittend Kind!_  
_Ave Maria!_

_Ave Maria! Unbefleckt!_  
_Wenn wir auf diesen Fels hinsinken_  
_Zum Schlaf, und uns dein Schutz bedeckt_  
_Wird weich der harte Fels uns dünken._  
_Du lächelst, Rosendüfte wehen_  
_In dieser dumpfen Felsenkluft,_  
_O Mutter, höre Kindes Flehen,_  
_O Jungfrau, eine Jungfrau ruft!_  
_Ave Maria!_

_Ave Maria! Reine Magd!_  
_Der Erde und der Luft Dämonen,_  
_Von deines Auges Huld verjagt,_  
_Sie können hier nicht bei uns wohnen,_  
_Wir woll'n uns still dem Schicksal beugen,_  
_Da uns dein heil'ger Trost anweht;_  
_Der Jungfrau wolle hold dich neigen,_  
_Dem Kind, das für den Vater fleht._  
_Ave Maria!_

As the song wound down, the olive-haired boy opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, not seeing it, for in his singing he had forgotten that he was in a strange home. And as the song ended, on a whim Tohma began to play a more modern song, one which he had only taught himself how to play over the previous weekend. As the platinum-haired teen began to play _'A Kind of Magic’_ by Queen, Ryuichi’s singing style easily changed from opera to operatic-sounding rock to keep up with the song.

 

‘ _A Kind of Magic’ by Queen_

 

_It's a kind of magic_  
_It's a kind of magic_  
_A kind of magic_

_One dream, one soul, one prize, one goal,_  
_One golden glance of what should be (It's a kind of magic)_  
_One flash of light that shows the way_  
_No mortal man can win this day, (It's a kind of magic )_

_The bell that rings inside your mind_  
_It's a challenging the doors of time (It's a kind of magic)_  
_The waiting seems eternity_  
_The day will dawn on sanity_

_Is this a kind of magic? (It's a kind of magic)_  
_There can be only one_  
_This rage that lasts a thousand years,_  
_Will soon be gone_

_This flame that burns inside of me_  
_I'm hearing secret harmonies (It's a kind of magic)_  
_The bell that rings inside your mind_  
_Is challenging the doors of time_

  
_It's a kind of magic_  
_It's a kind of magic_

_(It's a kind of magic)_

  
_This rage that lasts a thousand years,_  
_Will soon be, will soon be_  
_Will soon be gone!_

  
_This is a kind of magic (magic!)_  
_There can only be one_  
_This rage that lasts a thousand years,_  
_Will soon be gone (GONE!)_

_Magic (It's a kind of magic)_  
_It's a kind of magic (magic, magic, magic, MAGIC!)_

_Magic (Ah ha ha ha, its magic!)_

_It's a kind of magic!_

 

 

And as the last notes of the rock song, still relatively new to the Japanese shores died away, Ryuichi turned his gaze onto Tohma, who sat as if frozen, for within the introverted olive-haired boy’s normally lackluster blue eyes now lay an intensely radiant sparkle the blond had never before seen. And as the rare smile that the platinum-haired teen loved so much appeared on the face of the diminutive teenager, no traces of that dull shyness lay within the sapphire depths of Ryuichi’s eyes.

 

The boys had found a common bond. That bond being their love for music.

 

Little did the world know that it was about to be swept away by the magic that later became known as Nittle Grasper.

 

 

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tsuzuku

(To Be Continued)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Queen song that Ryuichi sang.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p_1QSUsbsM


	2. Track Two: Hatching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sing, or not to sing. That is the question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
> Japanese/explanations in this track:  
> *Sensei - title used when speaking of or to members of certain professions (lawyer, teacher, doctor, etc)  
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
> 
> Originally written in 2008CE

Excerpts from _‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock_ God’ by Yuki Eiri

 

“ _Everyone always said that he had the voice of an angel, but it was the teen with the face of one that convinced him to do more than just sing to himself or to Kumagorou, his pink plushie rabbit.”_

 

Yuki Eiri

*~*~*

 

“ “ _Messenger boy,” “the short kid,” “the messy-haired lonely kid,” “the kid with the pink bunny,” “the shy boy,” “the slow boy,” he was known by these names and worse while he was in school._

 

_Only one person outside of his home knew that he was more than those names. Only one other knew that he actually was more than “just another future high school dropout,” as our music teacher used to refer to him. And that one had the belief that “the small, shy teen that hid behind his bookbag” would one day emerge from the egg he was in into the butterfly boy that is now worshipped by millions._

 

_I was that one.”_

 

Seguchi Tohma, President of N-G Productions, lead keyboardist for Nittle Grasper, and Sakuma Ryuichi’s oldest friend

*~*~*

 

 

 

After that first time in the Seguchi’s music room, Tohma would often invite Ryuichi over to tutor, talk and sometimes just to hang out together, even though Ryuichi still avoided going into Tohma’s bedroom, instead choosing to do schoolwork in the kitchen,.

 

And just as often, after they had each done their respective assignments, the pair would adjourn to the said-same music room.

 

Realizing that his much smaller friend didn’t know many of the classical songs that he was fond of playing, the platinum-haired boy began at first to obtain the lyrics to the songs they listened to on a classical music station on the family's stereo, but Tohma quickly realized that doing so was unnecessary. For after hearing a song once, the mossy-haired teen would pick up the lyrics on his own merely by listening. Having so quickly memorized a song, Ryuichi would sing along while Tohma would sit on the piano bench and listen, enraptured as the small but highly talented boy and the voices coming from the radio echoed throughout the sunny, brightly lit music room.

 

At first, when he sang, Ryuichi would stand as still as a tree, his arms at his side as if afraid to move. But as the pair watched music videos, the shy teen would sit close to the large TV set in the living room and carefully watch the movements of the Japanese, American and British artists that often sang and danced their way across the screen.

 

A few weeks after the immersion into music videos, Ryuichi began to move as he sang, his lithe body easily mirroring the various dance moves that he had learned from the hours of watching, while Tohma played the songs on the ebony grand piano in the music room. And as he did, the transformation the shy boy was undergoing would bring a proud smile to the face of the blond.

 

The egg that had been Sakuma Ryuichi hatched during summer break.

 

*~*~*~*~*

As the pair grew closer as friends, as well as due to his blossoming feelings of love, Ryuichi’s formerly shy self became more confident as he went about delivering messages when school resumed.

 

It was the teachers that first noticed how the adolescent no longer bashfully curled into himself whenever he carried their messages back and forth, how he stood taller, even though he was still the smallest boy in both buildings. He still took his bookbag with him everywhere, but instead of hiding behind it when spoken to; he began to carry it at his side like the other students did, and sometimes spoke back to the teachers when spoken to, his voice quiet but confident.

 

Soon the students too began to notice that the mossy-haired teen seemed to carry himself as if he had more self-confidence. He still only spoke to Tohma instead of to them, but he did speak, which was a dramatic change from the silent boy they were all used to.

 

Every day while eating lunch together, Ryuichi and Tohma would sit away from everyone else and consume their meal, speaking in low tones to each other. When spoken to by any of the other students, Tohma always did the talking for the pair while Ryuichi, still somewhat shy despite the transformation he was undergoing, hid behind his much larger friend to peek out and watch the goings-on.

 

One early August afternoon, Ryuichi was delivering a message from the secretary to one of the math teachers after classes had ended for the day. As the mossy-haired teen walked, he happily swung the arm holding his ever-present bookbag that hid Kumagorou, his plushie friend, for the shy teen knew that at the front gate underneath a shady tree that sheltered him from the intense summer sun waited his new best friend, his keyboardist…his tenshi, Seguchi Tohma.

 

As he approached the teachers’ lounge, he heard their radio playing an American song…and not just any song, but his favorite rock group’s song, his most favorite song in the world, the self-same one that the golden boy had played for him on the ebony piano earlier that summer. The olive-haired lad couldn’t help himself, he began to hum along with Freddie Mercury’s silvery voice, and before he realized it, the lyrics to _‘A Kind of Magic’_ once again burst forth from his tiny body. Closing his eyes, he stood outside of the lounge’s door and sang as if his life depended on it.

 

The eight teachers inside at first wondered where the extraordinary voice that they were privileged enough to hear was coming from, so most of them sat, captivated in their seats and listened to the serenade.

 

However, Shiozu-sensei the music teacher managed to emerge from his stupor to rapidly seek out the owner of the voice that not only matched the voice on the radio, but also was able to harmonize with it perfectly, as it did during the choruses. Quietly as to not startle the owner, he opened the door and peeked out into the hallway to see the “slow boy,” that was the school’s messenger belting out the song, his eyes closed, his bookbag in one hand and the message to be delivered in the other. The music teacher’s jaw dropped while the other teachers, also curious, snuck up behind Shiozu to also witness who it was with the heavenly voice as the song wound down and ended.

 

The smallest boy in both school buildings opened his eyes to realize that he now had an audience of eight teachers staring at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head.

 

Blushing furiously, he handed the nearly forgotten message to the math teacher, bowed low and quickly turned around to leave, at first walking quickly, then running as if the hounds of hell were chasing him.

 

And as the teachers’ eyes followed the shy boy as he made his way down the hallway, the music teacher realized that he just might have been wrong about the “slow boy,” that he had previously written off as a ‘nobody going nowhere fast.’

 

*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, a message was sent _to Ryuichi_ (for a change) when he and Tohma passed through the school’s doorway to go to their respective classes. Puzzled, the mossy-haired boy refused to answer to the music room, where the message told him to go. Instead, he choose to head straight to his classroom. Tohma tried to tell him that he had done nothing wrong, for of course the tiny boy had explained to him what had happened when he appeared for the long, hot walk home the day previously, red-faced and out of breath.

 

So while attendance was being taken, Ryuichi sat in his assigned seat, hid his face behind his long bangs and stared at the desktop, only moving to raise his hand like always when his name was called.

 

The classroom door opened as the last name was read and Shiozu-sensei, the cocky music teacher walked in through the door; striding over to speak with the homeroom teacher as if he owned the classroom. Whispering between themselves, the homeroom teacher nodded as he called Ryuichi up to the front of the class, the other students whispering to themselves about the boy being in a “world of trouble.”

 

Having tuned out the other student’s chatter like he normally did, the olive-haired teen was startled when he heard his name called a second time that morning. Not used to hearing himself called more than once a day, Ryuichi quickly looked up; his face blanching as he realized that the one who had called his name was one of the teachers who had heard him sing the day previously.

 

Feeling as if he was heading to the gallows, Ryuichi slowly picked up his bookbag and stood at his desk as the homeroom teacher directed him to follow Shiozu-sensei out of the room. The arrogant man walked toward the door and through it as if he expected the boy to automatically follow him. Yet, when the music teacher turned around in the hallway to speak to the teen, he realized that he was still alone. Peering back inside of the classroom, he noticed the small teen still stood by his desk as if afraid to move, the other students as well as the homeroom teacher staring at him.

 

Shiozu-sense realized for the first time in his seven year teaching career and his previous career as lead guitarist in the popular local band Hell’s Bells that his arrogance wasn’t going to work on this shy boy. So after taking a deep breath and counting to ten, he called out gently to Ryuichi, who looked up at him with a terrified look in his eyes. Not having paid much attention to the “future high school dropout” before, the music teacher was briefly surprised to see Ryuichi’s startlingly deep blue eyes, which he had always assumed to be brown since they were normally hidden behind the teen’s long olive-colored bangs whenever he spoke to the boy.

 

“Come Sakuma-kun, we haven’t got all day,” the music teacher said in a quiet voice as the rest of the classroom waited to see if he would follow. Ryuichi stood, took a deep breath and blew it out, taking first one tentative step, and then another toward the front of the classroom. Walking as if he was made of wood, he followed Shiozu-sensei out of the room and down various hallways to the music room. The music teacher, not having a class so early in the morning, led the frightened boy into the room and instructed him to wait by the well-worn baby grand piano, which he did.

 

Taking a seat, Shiozu-sensei waggled his fingers and began to play popular and well-known choir songs while Ryuichi stood, silent. After playing for 20 solid minutes and waiting for the boy to begin to sing, he stopped playing and glared at the teen. Taking a deep breath, the music teacher sighed and again mentally counted to ten before he asked, “Why won’t you sing for me, Sakuma-kun? I heard you yesterday. I know you can.”

 

Still silent, Ryuichi hung his head and mumbled as he drew up his bookbag to his chest.

 

Shiozu-sensei amazingly kept his famous temper and mentally counted to twenty before he asked the small boy to repeat what he had earlier said.

 

“I only sing for Seguchi-sempai,” he repeated in a quiet voice.

 

“But you sang yesterday,” the hot-headed teacher said as he raised his voice to remind them both, causing Ryuichi to curl further around his bookbag.

 

“That…was because that’s my favorite song,” Ryuichi explained.

 

Shiozu-sense thought for a moment before he ordered the teen to “Wait here,” while he strode out of the classroom. Returning a short time later, he was followed by Tohma, who wore a confused look upon his face, only realizing what was going on when he spotted the quiet boy standing by the piano.

 

“Seguchi-kun, you will play his favorite song and Sakuma-kun, you will sing,” the teacher ordered the pair.

 

“I’m sorry Shiozu-sensei. I can play, but sing he will not do,” the blond said, gazing at his friend who had hid behind his bangs and looked like he was about to faint.

 

“And why not, Seguchi-kun,” Shiozu-sensei exclaimed, finally beginning to lose his temper.

 

“Because Sakuma-san sings when he’s in a good mood. And right now, he seems to be far from that,” Tohma explained as he watched Ryuichi, who appeared startled at the mention of his name by the taller teen.

 

Gritting his teeth, Shiozu-sensei mentally counted to thirty before speaking.

 

“And what, pray tell, must I do in order to get him to sing, Seguchi-kun?” the music teacher asked in a tight voice.

 

Tohma gazed at his friend, no…his best friend for a long moment before answering. “Well, he likes ice cream…” he started as a mischievous glint flashed in his turquoise eyes for the briefest of instances. “Of course, he won’t eat any unless I have some too…”

 

Ryuichi stood stock still as if he was incapable of movement.

 

Shiozu-sensei stared at the pair, first at the beautiful and popular golden boy, then at the shy and introverted mossy-haired one before he gave a deep and very audible sigh.

 

“Fine. I will see to it that you both receive ice cream cones…AFTER he sings,” he replied.

 

“I’m afraid that won’t do, Shiozu-sensei. You see, I can tell that he’s not up to it at the moment, and thus will not sing until he is in a much better mood. And I know for a fact that right now, he is too nervous and embarrassed to even open his mouth, much less sing,” Tohma calmly elucidated.

 

Shiozu-sensei growled, huffed, and then left the room, slamming the colorfully decorated door. “I will be right back…and he DAMN well better sing when I return!” the boys heard through the door as he stormed away towards the cafeteria.

 

At the slamming of the door, Ryuichi fell to his knees like a marionette whose strings had been cut as Tohma gasped.

 

“I fervently suggest that you sing for Shiozu-sensei, Ryuichi-san. Or I fear what he may do next. His temper is legendary,” the blond told Ryuichi as he hurried over to the piano and sat cross-legged next to the frightened teen.

 

“I…I will sing…if you play piano for me Seguchi-senpai. I will sing for no one else, not even Shiozu-sensei,” Ryuichi whispered as he gazed deep into Tohma’s turquoise eyes. The older teen smiled and patted Ryuichi on the shoulder at that heartfelt statement.

 

“Just do your best, Sakuma-san. You don’t have to join any music clubs or anything if you don’t want to. I think he just wants to…mentally confirm something, that’s all,” the beautiful teen replied by way of explanation.

 

As a way to thank Tohma for his kindness, not to mention his love for the gorgeous older boy, in a bold move, the bashful teen placed his head upon the taller one’s shoulder. The platinum-haired boy, in response, slowly placed an arm around his best friend’s shoulders, and that’s how Shiozu-sensei found the pair when he returned with two ice cream cones as well as a few napkins.

 

Handing one cone and some napkins first to Ryuichi, then to Tohma, the teacher sat in one of the many audience chairs facing the piano and waited. Ryuichi glanced first at Tohma, next to the teacher as he sat patiently and finally to the cone before a shy smile graced his face and he began to lick at the melting concoction. The blond echoed the smile as he and Ryuichi locked eyes and began to eat his own cone.

 

Soon both cones were no more and with one glance into Ryuichi’s eyes, Tohma knew that there would be no more problems. The intensely radiant sparkle that he had seen only once before in the teen’s sapphire-blue eyes had returned.

 

Standing elegantly, the tall, pale boy glided over to the piano bench and took a seat. He wiggled his fingers to briefly warm them up before he began to play _'Moonlight Sonata,'_ as Ryuichi picked himself up from the floor and carefully placed the ever-present bookbag on the piano, close by. Closing his eyes, he waited as Tohma played, his mind clearing of the fear and the embarrassment as the soothing power of music flowed through his veins.

 

When Tohma’s delicate fingers began to play _‘Sara,'_ by the band Fleetwood Mac, Ryuichi took in a deep breath and began to sing the melodic rock song. Once again Shiozu-sensei was enraptured as the small teen’s perfectly pitched voice made its way to his trained ears, for he recognized the American tune as it had often played on the teachers’ lounge radio.

 

Tohma moved from the end of one song into the next, the duo serenading the teacher with _‘What A Fool Believes’_ by The Doobie Brothers. Because both boys had their eyes closed and their backs to the door, neither one realized that they had been discovered, for a classmate had walked by and peeked in through the door’s window into the room on her way to the bathroom before running back to her classroom and quietly beckoned her fellow students to join her. And as they silently made their way to the door of the music room, they too were caught up in the magic that was Sakuma and Seguchi.

 

The short-tempered teacher recognized the next song the twosome played from hot, sweaty, alcohol-filled, passionate nights spent on the floor of local dance clubs; surrounded by others of the same ilk as the smallest boy in both school buildings belted out _‘Bad Girls’_ by Donna Sommer before the platinum-haired lad’s talented fingers moved into Queen's _‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’_ a true hard rock song. After that first time in the Seguchi's sun-filled music room, Tohma had acquired a recorded tape of the musical group Queen's songs, the little teen’s favorite band and had taught himself to play them on the family’s ebony grand piano. And as many a true fan has done, Ryuichi had memorized the tunes and often sang along while the older teen played.

 

Tohma at last played Queen's _‘A Kind of Magic,’_ the favorite song of the tiny vocalist that Shiozu-san had first requested, watching as Ryuichi began to use some of the break dance moves that he had learned from hours and hours of watching and studying music videos in front of the Seguchi television. Flowing as if boneless, he jumped, spun, danced and moved, his mind concentrating, his closed electric blue eyes not seeing the audience of other students while he performed, ending the mini-concert by doing a split.

 

The spectators, their group having grown by leaps and bounds to number 50 plus, broke into thunderous applause, whistling and clapping as they practically fell into the room to congratulate the pair. Ryuichi blushed and ran to cower next to Tohma, grabbing his precious bookbag as he hid behind the blond while the students made their way over to shower the boys with their admiration.

 

Shiozu-sensei sat, dumbstruck with the idea that this minuscule boy that he had thought would amount to nothing and have a nowhere life would not only prove him wrong, but surpass him.

 

 

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tsuzuku

(To Be Continued)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs mentioned in this track:  
> * _'Sara’_ by Fleetwood Mac  
>  https://youtu.be/VzPrS-fHtZI  
> * _‘What a Fool Believes’_ by The Doobie Brothers  
>  https://youtu.be/g0_FvK51wOQ  
> * _‘Bad Girls’_ by Donna Summer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA0NkYi3Y5U  
>  * _‘Don’t Stop Me Now’_ by Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM  
>  * _‘A Kind of Magic’_ by Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p_1QSUsbsM


	3. Track Three: Catapillar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The band and the fans...and the non-fans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
> Japanese/explanations in this track:  
> *oni – a kind of yokai from Japanese folklore. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oni
> 
> *obaa-san – Grandmother
> 
> *Feh – an exclamation of disbelief, disgust or contempt.
> 
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
> 
> Originally written in 2008CE.

Excerpt from _‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock God’_ by Yuki Eiri

_We three created Nittle Grasper’s first and longest running fan club. And to this day, we still talk to Noriko-san, Tohma-san and Ryuichi-san, especially Ryuichi-san! But he’s not the same shy kid we knew in high school…he’s defiantly…changed. I’m still not sure if it was for the better._

Kubiyashi Anzu, President and co-founder of the ‘Nittle Grasper 4 Ever!’ fan club  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The students that made up the impromptu audience eventually made their way back to their respective classrooms, but the deed had been done. Word spread like wildfire that the smallest boy in both buildings was an exceptional singing and dancing talent. Many an unbeliever scoffed at the idea of the “short, silent kid,” the “slow boy,” and other, much more cruel names that Ryuichi had been referred by as having any talent, much less one as unexpected as singing and dancing.

When Ryuichi made his way back to his classroom, well after second period had started, he was greeted by those classmates that wished to hear him sing. Of course, he had once again withdrawn into himself and refused to speak, much less do as the others asked of him.

And of course, Arakaki Katashi and his group, who had bullied Ryuichi since middle school were the loudest unbelievers. By the time they broke for lunch, Arakaki had managed to get most of the students in their homeroom to believe it was all an elaborate hoax.

Thus, by lunchtime, most of the high school students had divided into two camps; those that had witnessed or believed the idea that the teen was highly talented, and those that vehemently thought that “bookbag boy couldn’t tie his shoes unassisted, much less sing.” So when Tohma and Ryuichi arrived at their usual spot to consume their meal, they found a rather large crowd of fellow students, all wishing that the pair would repeat their earlier performance.

Ryuichi, of course, hid his face in Tohma’s back while the much larger teen stood in front of the lunchroom wall and attempted to calm the students even as he tried to protect his friend from the onslaught.

“Leave him alone! Can’t you see that the poor kid is terrified of all of you?” a female voice yelled just as the throng was beginning to become unruly.

Pushing her way through the mass of people was a rather small, lavender-haired girl with a rather large chest. Using both of her elbows as well as her shoulders, she made her way to the side of the tall platinum-haired boy and took Ryuichi into her busty embrace. Taken aback by everything had happened so far this day, the shy teen threw his arms around the girl, turned his head into her chest and began to loudly weep while the girl patted the boy and murmured soothingly to the mossy-haired lad.

In the meantime, Tohma continued to try and reason with the other students. “If you wish to hear him sing, then I suggest you buy tickets for the upcoming cultural fair. Perhaps I can convince Sakuma-san to perform there by then. But to attempt to harass him into performing while he is trying to eat his lunch is downright selfish!” Tohma said, frowning as he admonished the crowd.

The crowd of adolescents, guiltily realizing their mistake as well as truly seeing the fear-provoking effect they were having on the diminutive teen, finally began to drift away.

"You had _better_ sing at the cultural fair, Sakuma, or you'll think that everything I did before was tame in comparison!” Arakaki said as a parting comment before he walked away with his chuckling cronies.

At last the threesome stood alone as Ryuichi continued to sob into the girl’s chest as she tried to calm the thoroughly terrified boy.

Tohma turned around and raised an eyebrow at the girl, who actually was a quite bit taller than his diminutive best friend. She blushed slightly as she realized where Ryuichi had placed his face in an attempt to hide from the crowd. Smiling but not trying to remove the upset boy, she introduced herself.

“Hi, I’m Hoshina Noriko. I go to the middle school that’s in the other building. I was here on the high school side with some of my friends to help plan a booth for the cultural fair. Who’s this?” she asked as she nodded her head, unable to properly bow because of the upset boy she held.

“ ‘That’ is my best friend Sakuma Ryuichi, first year high school student, and I am Seguchi Tohma, second year,” Tohma explained as he pointed to the olive-haired teen, whose tears had finally began to lessen.

Realizing what the much taller teen had admitted to, Ryuichi wiped his eyes with one hand, turned his head and gazed up into Tohma’s eyes, astonished as his heart filled with love for the exquisite lad. “I’m…I’m your best friend?” he inquired.

Smiling gently, Tohma nodded. “Did you think you were not, Sakuma-san?” the pale-skinned boy asked while Ryuichi continued to stare at him unbelieving, his arms still around the kind girl he had hugged in his misery. Forgetting Noriko for the moment, the olive-haired teen stared for a bit longer into the turquoise eyes, before he blushed and hung his head, a shy smile gradually emerging onto his face.

“If you want me to sing for the fair, Seguchi-senpai, I will,” he finally agreed as he spoke more into Noriko’s chest than in the direction of Tohma.

“That would be great, Sakuma-san, for I fear that you and I will continue to be harassed by other students until we show them what we can do,” Tohma remarked in a thoughtful voice. “Besides, I feel that it’s time we showed the nonbelievers that you are more than “that weird boy,” don’t you?” Tohma asked as Ryuichi finally let go of Noriko and nodded in agreement.

Silent as the exchange between the pair took place, Noriko finally decided to speak up. Taking a deep breath which made her already large chest momentarily larger, she blew it out before she revealed her idea.

“Seguchi-senpai? Sakuma-senpai? I would love to join you two for the cultural fair. I play keyboard, and I’ve been looking for a group to join. That’s what my friends and I were talking about before you were mobbed. I wanted to do something musical, and they wanted some sort of cooking demonstration. Frankly, I hate cooking and I wanted to try and find something more fun!”

The two boys looked at each other, and then Ryuichi shrugged. Blushing, he said in her defense, “She did help chase away the mob…and she helped me, Seguchi-senpai,”

Tohma gazed first at Noriko, then at Ryuichi before answering. “Well, we ARE indebted to her…but she will have to audition first. We can’t have just anyone join us; we would have to have someone that fits in with what we do,” he explained to his best friend.

The diminutive teen nodded in agreement before a puzzled look crossed his face. “The least we could do is try her out…so to speak,” he acknowledged, his sapphire eyes briefly flashing a touch of mischievousness as he realized what he had said before he continued. “But, with your piano and my singing, why do we have need for a second pianist, Seguchi-senpai?”

“Oh, I don’t play piano, Sakuma-senpai, I play the synthesizer! I’ve been in lessons since I was eight and I just turned thirteen a couple days ago!” she explained, smiling. Both boys stared at the girl for a moment before they both turned toward each other, Ryuichi with a slight grin on his face as Tohma responded.

“Well, that’s different. I’ve actually been interested in learning how to play one. Mind showing me how it works? We could go to my music room at home, if it’s okay with you, since I doubt if Sakuma-san will sing here. Don’t worry, we’ll both be perfect gentleman,” the blond assured Noriko as Ryuichi smiled and nodded bashfully.

“I’d love to, Seguchi-senpai! But a young lady such as myself, alone, with two older men…what would people think? What would my friends think? Hold that thought!” she said as she jumped up and hurried over to retrieve her bento from her friends, then walked back over and sat down at the pair’s usual table, inviting herself as the two boys finally began to eat their lunches.

Thinking over their dilemma, the trio ate quietly for a bit before Noriko jumped up once again. “I’ll just ask one of my friends to come with us, it should be okay then!”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll convene after school by the front gate and you can walk with Sakuma-san and I over to my place and audition.” Tohma asked.

“That’s fine! I have my keyboard in the middle school music room! I’ll get it and grab one of my friends and we can all go!” Noriko said as she stood. Both Ryuichi and Tohma stood as well and bowed to her as she turned to go.

“Just remember one thing, Sakuma-senpai. Your nose in my boobs was a one-time thing. Don’t think you can do _that_ again!” she fussed before she strolled off, her head held high as Ryuichi’s jaw dropped in surprise and Tohma chuckled.

“That one is going to be a handful, Sakuma-san,” he said teasingly to the mossy-haired boy.

*~*~*~*~*  


As Tohma and Ryuichi met at the gate at the appointed time, they watched as Noriko approached them with not one but three other girls. One wore the same middle school uniform that Noriko wore, and the other two wore the high school uniform for girls.

“This is Fujimoto Arumi, first year high school student, Gotoh Fuu, first year high school student and Kubiyashi Anzu, second year middle school student. Anzu and I are in class together,” she explained, each girl bowing as they were introduced, Fuu smiling shyly as she recognized the blond-haired boy.

“These three are my best friends, we’ve known each other since we were in elementary school, and all three wanted to make sure I’d be okay with you older men. I couldn’t just pick one and not take the others. Besides, I’m just a helpless middle school girl; I don’t want either of you to think I was easy or anything!” Noriko rationalized as she hefted her custom-made keyboard case.

“I can carry that for you if you’d like,” Ryuichi piped up before he blushed and hid his face behind his long bangs. Two of the girls giggled, which caused Noriko to glare at them, instantly stopping their laughter.

“Sure, Sakuma-senpai, you may carry it if you like, just so you understand that my parents bought it for me for my last birthday and are still paying it off, okay?” She smiled cutely at him, which caused him to blush even redder as she patiently waited for Ryuichi to shift his bookbag onto his back, using the backpack straps before the small teen took the case from the lavender-haired beauty.

Tohma watched the entire exchange, one eyebrow raised. “Is everyone ready to depart?” he inquired when it looked as if everyone had settled. Receiving affirmations from everyone, he began to lead them toward his home.

While on the way, they passed by a convenient store. “Wait just a moment, I’ll be right back!” Noriko instructed as she ducked inside. Making a few quick purchases, she rejoined the group and they continued their trek, the four girls talking about their teachers as the boys listened quietly.

Turning off of the main street, they made their way down the spotlessly clean street to the large home behind the ornate gate. As Tohma pulled on the gate, the girls whispered among themselves, as the tall, attractive teen had many admirers and the two high school-aged girls were among them. Smiling graciously, he bowed and said in a polite voice, “As a member and future head of the Seguchi family, I welcome you to my most humble home,” as the two high school girls giggled nervously.

As the group entered, three of the girls marveled at the splendor of the gardens that lay on either side of the walkway. Noriko nodded absently as her three friends pointed out this kind of flowerbed or that, so focused on her audition was she.

As they approached the front door, the pretty French maid in the sky-blue outfit opened the door and greeted the troupe, bowing low and offering to take their bookbags and other items as she gracefully pointed out the guest slippers. While the boys took off their shoes, Noriko shook her head as the maid offered to take the heavy case that Ryuichi was carrying. He hugged it against his chest and mirrored the headshake. “Its okay, Kaoru-san, I got it,” the olive-haired teen explained as he hefted the case and turned toward Tohma, who was waiting patiently for the group.

“We would like tea to be brought into the Music room, please Kaoru,” he instructed over his shoulder while he led the way, Ryuichi following close behind. The girls looked around and smiled at the artwork that decorated the huge home, pointing out this piece or that as they followed the two boys.

As they entered the large sunlit room, Tohma led Ryuichi over to the padded piano bench. “With your permission, Hoshina-san, Ryuichi can place the keyboard here so that you may set it up.” She nodded and smiled prettily as Ryuichi did just that while the other girls found seats in the comfortably padded chairs surrounding a table that graced the window-filled room.

Noriko opened the case and set up the portable stand, then the synthesizer, plugging it in when the platinum blond showed her where an outlet was in the wall. Tohma carefully placed the case on an empty chair before taking his seat on the piano bench, while Ryuichi sat cross-legged in his usual place on the floor next to him, his bookbag on his lap.

“Here, drink this...slowly,” Noriko instructed, handing Ryuichi a newly-purchased bottle of water. Blinking, Ryuichi took it and began sipping from it, careful to not gulp for fear of air mixing in and making him burp, which would ruin his performance.

Kaoru brought in a tea tray with a plate of homemade sugar cookies and placed them on a low table, making sure that the three guests had what they needed while Noriko went back to setting up. Sipping their tea, the three girls that made up the audience waited expectantly.

Cracking her knuckles, which caused Tohma to wince, Noriko ran through her scales a few times, and then began to play classical music…with a twist. It sounded like classical, but she had added her own, more modern spin to it, turning it into something that could very well be played in any of the dance clubs that they were, for the most part, still too young to attend.

Picking up on the rhythm, Tohma soon joined in, playing a classical counterpart to the dance style the lavender-haired beauty was exhibiting as the girls, well used to her unique style, clapped out the beat. Even the ever-bashful Ryuichi got into the music as he bobbed his head in time, a half-smile on his usually hair-hidden face as he let the music carry him, occasionally sipping his water. Tohma glanced over and smiled as his best friend moved with the rhythm.

Noriko began to wind down her playing, with Tohma quickly following suit. “Well?” she asked as she gazed at the pair and waited for an answer.

“Your playing was all well and good, Hoshina-san, but can you create anything original? Not just changing already existing classical music, but creating something brand new?” the older teen asked as the others watched.

“Well,” Noriko began. “I…do have something I came up with a while back, but I’m not sure what to do with it. I’m not too good with lyrics, only with the musical aspect.” Taking a few deep breaths and closing her eyes, she began to play a slow, melodious song, her fingers caressing the keyboard as she swayed back and forth to the notes coming forth from her gifted fingertips. As Tohma picked up on the melody, his piano complemented the song, creating a soothing harmony, the pair playing as if they had always been together.

The music all too soon ceased, but to the listeners in the Seguchi’s music room it was as if their souls had taken a walk underneath a cool waterfall as they opened their eyes and rejoined the rest of the world.

“Very nice, Hoshina-san, not bad at all. However, I am not the only vote here,” Tohma reminded Noriko as he turned his gaze upon Ryuichi. Startled that he had a say in the matter, the bashful lad blushed and looked first at the platinum blond before turning his sapphire gaze onto Noriko, nearly knocking over the remainder of his water in his nervousness.

“I…uh…liked it lots,” the diminutive teen said before he looked up at Tohma and shrugged helplessly.

“Well, don’t you think that she should be able to keep up with you, Sakuma-san? After all, you ARE the vocalist,” Tohma pointed out.

“Well, uh…I guess so,” he replied as he stood and bowed to the pretty lavender-haired keyboardist. Standing back upright, he asked, “Um….do you know any Queen?” in a low voice as he hugged his bookbag to his chest and looked down at his slippers.

“Queen? The British rock group? I know one song of theirs…” she replied casually as she began to play.” Ryuichi’s eyes went wide with surprise as she played, and as the second line began, he started to sing along, a playful smile upon his lips as she grinned impishly back at him.

 _‘Killer Queen’_ by Queen

_She keeps Moet et Chandon_  
_In a pretty cabinet_  
_'Let them eat cake' she says_  
_Just like Marie Antoinette_  
_A built-in remedy_  
_For Khrushchev and Kennedy_  
_At anytime an invitation you can't decline_

_Caviar and cigarettes_  
_Well versed in etiquette_  
_Extraordinarily nice_

_Chorus:_  
_She's a Killer Queen_  
_Gunpowder, Gelatine_  
_Dynamite with a laser beam_  
_Guaranteed to blow your mind_  
_Anytime_

_Recommended at the price_  
_Insatiable an appetite_  
_Wanna try?_

_To avoid complications_  
_She never kept the same address_  
_In conversation_  
_She spoke just like a baroness_

_Met a man from China_  
_Went down to Geisha Minah_  
_Then again incidentally_  
_If you're that way inclined_

_Perfume came naturally from Paris (Naturally!)_  
_for cars she couldn't care less_  
_Fastidious and precise_

_Chorus:_  
_She's a Killer Queen_  
_Gunpowder, Gelatine_  
_Dynamite with a laser beam_  
_Guaranteed to blow your mind_  
_Anytime_

_Drop of a hat she's as willing as_  
_Playful as a pussy cat_  
_Then momentarily out of action_  
_Temporarily out of gas_  
_To absolutely drive you wild, wild_  
_She's out to get you_

_Chorus:_  
_She's a Killer Queen_  
_Gunpowder, Gelatine_  
_Dynamite with a laser beam_  
_Guaranteed to blow your mind_  
_Anytime_

_Recommended at the price_  
_Insatiable in appetite_  
_Wanna try?_  
_You wanna try_

 

Noriko’s friends, not truly expecting the shy lad to be able to sing, much less be able to sing as splendidly as he did, was astounded with the sheer power the undersized teen’s voice had. All too soon they clapped along as the pair at their respective keyboards seemed to play with each other, his voice easily keeping up with her performance.

As the song wound down, Noriko deliberately held the last note, stretching it out for quite a while. Ryuichi threw back his head and sustained the note, flowing up and down his impressive vocal range before Noriko, surprised, stopped playing altogether.

“Wow...I guess you really CAN sing, Sakuma-senpai,” she acknowledged, a huge smile upon her face as he blushed and bowed to her while the other four clapped heartily.

“Sakuma-san? May I speak to you alone please?” Tohma asked, a serious look on his face as he beckoned his best friend over to convene privately. Noriko waited patiently by her synthesizer as the other three girls whispered among themselves.

After a few minutes, Tohma stood and strode to the center of the room. He bowed low, first to the three audience members, and then to the lavender-haired keyboardist as Ryuichi moved to stand next to him and once again look intently down at his feet, his long bangs hiding his facial expression.

“Sakuma-san and I have decided that we would be greatly pleased if you would join us as our synthesizer keyboardist for the cultural fair, Hoshina-san,” the beautiful pale teen revealed, wearing a satisfied expression while Ryuichi looked sideways at Noriko, a huge smile on his face.

As the three girls clapped and squealed happily before hurrying over to congratulate Noriko, Ryuichi shuffled his feet and asked the tall boy, “Seguchi-san, if we’re going to be a band, what are we going to call ourselves?”

“Hmmm, excellent question, Sakuma-san. Any ideas?” Tohma replied, bewildered.

“Nope,” Ryuichi said, shaking his head before turning to Noriko, who was still surrounded by her friends. “Hoshina-san?” he asked quietly. “What are we going to call our band?”

“Idunno…you don’t have a name?” she asked the duo as the three girls became silent so that they could listen to the conversation.

Ryuichi shook his head again as Tohma explained, “Before today we had no need of a name. Everything we did was simply for fun. We had no concrete plans to actually establish a band. My mentioning of the cultural fair was simply to get the other students to leave Sakuma-san alone.”

“Then why did you even bother learning how to play the piano, Seguchi-senpai?” Noriko asked as she put her hands on her hips and stared at the tall boy.

Nonplussed, he replied, “My parents want me to become a concert pianist. I taught myself to play a few rock songs, and then when Sakuma-san came around, we learned more. I still have no intention to diverge from my path of being a pianist. I started doing this merely for my as well as Sakuma-san’s personal enjoyment, nothing more.”

Ryuichi stared at Tohma as he made his revelation. “You…you had no plans to make a band?” he stammered, his small frame drooping as he dropped both arms to his side, his bookbag hitting him in the leg.

Tohma raised an eyebrow at his best friend. “No, Sakuma-san. I learned rock songs because you seemed to enjoy it and I had fun as well. No other reason.”

Noriko watched the exchange between the pair as the other girls once again began whispering between themselves. The diminutive youth hung his head as he confessed, “But I had hoped…I thought…I wanted to…” before he fled the room. Noriko gave the platinum blond a withering look before she followed.

Retracing her path through the expansive mansion, she met up with the olive-haired teen as he was putting on his shoes at the front door. “You’re leaving, Sakuma-senpai?” she asked as he looked over at her while hot tears of anger and disappointment flowed down his cheeks. Silently, he nodded as he placed his bookbag down by his side and knelt to tie his laces. She watched as he managed one, then the other before reaching for where he had placed his bookbag, After he wiped his eyes free of the moisture, he realized that Noriko was holding the bag, having picked it up while he was busy with his shoes.

“Sakuma-senpai? You never bothered to ask Seguchi-senpai what his plans were? Did you always think that you and he would start a band?” As he gestured to the bookbag that she was holding, he nodded his head, sending tears flying as he held out his hand. She brought up the bag to her ample chest and smiled sadly at the small teen.

“You just _assumed_ that he would want to start a band with you, didn’t you?” she continued, ignoring his hand. He nodded again as he held out his other hand to join the first, shaking them together as more tears fell.

Sitting on the floor as she held onto the bookbag, she sighed as she inquired, “But you never thought to ask him, did you? You just assumed.” Shifting to one side, she leaned against the step as she hugged the leather bag.

“He brought you out of your shell, showed you that you were more than the “freaky shrimpy kid” and the other mean things that the kids in school call you, made you his best friend, and you never thought to open up and ask him why he wanted to be your friend, or why he played piano to your singing?” Ryuichi stared at her for a moment, then slowly shook his head in response.

She huffed as she told Ryuichi, “You are the worst best friend ever! I bet you never even told him that you wanted to try to make a band with him, did you? You never gave him a chance to say ‘yes or no,’ did you? You just assumed that he’d go along with what you wanted, didn’t you? Some friend you are!” she spat as she held tighter onto the bookbag.

Ryuichi stood and stared at the angry lavender-haired girl as if she had suddenly turned into an oni before he balled up his fists and glared at her, his tears temporarily forgotten.

“I shouldn’t have to ask _why_ someone wants to be friends with me!” he shouted at her. “I should be able to be friends with someone because they _want_ to be my friend, not out of some sense of _obligation_ , nor because I can sing or because they feel _sorry_ for the _short kid!_ I became his friend because he was _nice_ to me, treated me as if I _mattered_ , like I was more than ‘the school messenger boy!’ I became his friend because he _cared about ME!_ I’m still his friend! And if he doesn’t want to be in a band with me, I don’t care about that either! I was just…just…”

“’Just’ what, Sakuma-senpai?” Noriko gently queried. “Just about to leave your best friend’s home, never to return?”

Ryuichi stared at her as all the anger suddenly left his body. He sat onto the floor as if deflated and hung his head. “I was, wasn’t I? I was about to run out of here like he was my worst enemy instead of my best…my only friend.”

“He’s not your only friend, Sakuma-senpai. I’m now your friend too, band or no band.” she murmured.

Surprised, Ryuichi raised his head to see the kind smile she was giving him. He stared a bit longer at Noriko before he tilted his head and shyly returned her smile. The pair sat and smiled at each other for a bit longer before Noriko knitted her eyebrows together and looked down at the bookbag she was holding.

“Why do you carry this thing everywhere, anyway?” she said as she began to open it.

“NO!” the mossy-haired teen shouted just as she reached inside and pulled out a dirty, battered pink stuffed rabbit with a red bow tie around his neck. Dangling the bunny between her finger and her thumb, she frowned at it as Ryuichi hung his head and hid behind his bangs, silent.

“What’s his name?” she asked as she watched the mossy-haired teen turned bright red.

“Kuma…Kumagorou,” he whispered back.

“And who gave him to you?” Noriko asked as she inspected the grubby toy.

“My…my obaa-san, I was told. The night I was born,” he replied in the same whisper.

“Oh,” she murmured. “He looks…well-loved,” she said in a caring tone, which caused the boy to look up and see that she was holding the plushie out for him to take, wearing a tender expression instead of the mocking one he was expecting.

He watched her face carefully as he took back the plushie and hugged it tight to his chest. As she waited, he explained further. “My…my folks thought I was going to be a girl when my Mom was preg...uh, expecting me. So…when my Mom gave my obaa-san his pink fabric, Granny said I was going to be a boy and gave Kuma a bow tie. She was right.”

“Oh,” she repeated, as she watched Ryuichi clutch the dirty rabbit. The teen seemed to suddenly exude more confidence; his body language became more relaxed the longer he held the bunny. He smiled again at the pretty girl before he began to loosen the laces in his shoes.

“You’re staying? After all that?” Noriko inquired, her chocolate eyes shining as she placed the bookbag down next to the wall.

“Yeah. I might as well. After all, I never did tell Tohma…Seguchi-san that I wanted to start a band. It was stupid of me to assume that he knew what I was thinking. Besides, it’ll be fun to be in a band, even if it’s only for one concert!” he replied offhandedly as he took off his shoes and placed them with the others before once more putting on the slippers.

Putting the bunny on top of his head, Ryuichi smiled impishly as he stood and held out his hand. “Come on Hoshina-san, let’s get back. After all, we have a LOT of practicing to do for our one performance!”

“It’s Noriko, Ryuichi-san,” she retorted, a huge grin on her face as she took his hand, picked up the bookbag and led the way back into the music room. The girls still sat with their heads together while Tohma sat relaxed at the piano, eyes closed as he played one classical song after another. It was obvious to Ryuichi that the oldest teen was more upset than he let on, choosing to hide his emotions by continuing to play for his guests.

“He’s back!” Anzu cried when the pair re-entered the music room. She jumped up and ran over to Noriko, followed by the other two girls, clustering around the pair and asking question after question, occasionally gazing at the bunny now adorning the smallest teen’s head.

The platinum-haired teen in the meantime, continued to play as if nothing had happened, eyes closed.

Releasing Noriko’s hand, Ryuichi walked over to stand in front and off to the side of the piano bench, placed one small hand on Tohma’s shoulder and looked him in the face. Opening his turquoise eyes, Tohma glanced over at the small teen, then up at the toy upon his head, a slight frown on his face.

“Decided to rejoin us, I see,” the blond said in a cool voice as his fingers continued to move effortlessly on the piano keys.

“Yeah,” the mossy-haired lad murmured as he took a few steps backward while Tohma kept his half-lidded eyes on him. Carefully sitting the plushie on the piano, Ryuichi dropped to his knees and touched his forehead to the expensive Oriental rug, stretching his hands out along the floor as he kowtowed to the golden boy.

Wide-eyed, Tohma ceased his playing and the girls stopped conferring with each other as every eye in the room turned to watch the smallest of them all.

“Seguchi-san, please forgive me for assuming that we were going to do anything more than hang out together. It was wrong of me to assume that your dreams were the same as mine when we hadn’t talked about it. I am truly sorry for assuming, I made an ass out of me,” Ryuichi told Tohma, his voice loud in the huge room.

Tohma watched warily as Ryuichi stayed where he was. Ignoring the quiet girls, he turned on the bench and said, “And why is it that you’ve never told me you had dreams of forming a band of any kind before, Sakuma-san, when we’d lie around in my TV room and talk about everything else? Why did you keep such a secret from me? I thought that we were supposed to be best friends.”

The diminutive teen blanched as he muttered, “Be…because I just…I just figured that we naturally would start one. With your piano and my singing…I assumed, and I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

Tohma continued his stare at Ryuichi as he asked, “And now I ask you, what is your greatest dream, Sakuma-san? What will make you the happiest at this moment?”

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Ryuichi answered, “To be best friends with you forever, no matter what.”

To that the platinum-haired teen replied, “And your second fondest wish?”

Again with no hesitation. “For us to perform at the cultural fair.”

Ryuichi stayed where he was, immobile, his forehead still to the floor as the girls watched the interchange. From Tohma, there was silence, which seemed to stretch on forever as he pondered the situation. Finally, the platinum-topped lad gazed at the dirty pink bunny as it sat on the piano.

“One more question, Sakuma-san. Why didn’t you ever tell me that this creature is why you always kept your bookbag with you? Again, I thought that we were supposed to be best friends.”

Ryuichi took in a huge breath and blew it out slowly before he responded.

“Be…because I thought you would laugh at me and call me a baby like everyone else did whenever they saw him.”

“Have I ever laughed at anything you’ve done, Sakuma-san?” the blond inquired in a neutral voice.

“No,” Ryuichi replied.

“Then why did you think that would change?” Tohma asked.

“I…I don’t know. I guess I assumed…”

“Exactly my point,” Tohma said as he deliberately interrupted. “You _assumed_ I would laugh and call you names. Have I?”

“No. No you haven’t,” Ryuichi whispered.

The silence this time lasted such a long time that Ryuichi dared at last to look up, only to see that Tohma was still watching him. The blond’s dark aqua eyes narrowed as their eyes met.

“Did you think I left, Sakuma-san?” he inquired.

“No. I knew that you were still there. But my foot is falling asleep,” Ryuichi answered.

“Then I suppose it would be best if you got out of that position, Sakuma-san,” Tohma said in a solemn voice.

Ryuichi sat in a cross-legged position as he rubbed at his numb foot, not daring to look at Tohma. “I guess I owe you a lot more than an apology…” he began.

“Yes, yes you do, Sakuma-san. But that is not important at the moment. What is important is that we come up with a name for our band. Am I right Hoshina-san?” The beautiful teen asked as he turned his gaze onto their newest bandmate.

“Damn right, Tohma-san! Otherwise, how are we going to be billed on the cultural fair’s program?” she replied airily.

Tohma winced at the language as well as the more casual use of his name, but smiled slightly nevertheless at the lavender-haired girl. She threw him back a wink as they both looked at Ryuichi as he sat on the expensive rug and continued to rub at his foot.

“I…I’ve been alone for so long, I guess grasping the idea of having a “best friend” is harder than I thought,” the olive-haired teen admitted as he wiggled his foot experimentally.

“Wait…what did you say?” Noriko asked the diminutive teen.

“I said, “I’ve been alone for so long, I guess grasping the idea of…” he began.

“That’s it! Grasping!” she cried as the others stared at her. “No one talks like that normally! Sorry Ryuichi-san, but its true! No one really uses that word, so they’re bound to remember it! Let’s see…grasping…grasp…hmmmmm…”

Noriko’s three best friends, well familiar with the way her mind worked and knowing that she would want some aspect of all three of the musicians in the band’s name, began to voice a few ideas.

“Well, Sakuma-san’s little, and shy and cute too,” Arumi said, turning red as Ryuichi smiled bashfully at her.

“And Seguchi-san’s elegant, tall, and regal. He reminds me of a shogun,” Anzu threw in as she stared at Tohma, who merely raised an eyebrow at the comment.

“And you’re perky, opinionated and you have a huge chest!” Fuu quipped, which caused Ryuichi to giggle as he rubbed his foot some more.

“Well…how about ‘Perky Little Grasper? Perky for me, little for Ryuichi-san and grasper for Tohma-san?” Noriko suggested as she gazed over at the two boys.

“Idunno…” Ryuichi said in a reserved voice as he shrugged and stood up, flexing his foot as he looked over at Tohma, who raised an eyebrow, then shrugged as well.

“I think noisy is more appropriate than perky, don’t you think Ryuichi-san?” Tohma quipped, a slight smile on his face as Ryuichi nodded, wearing a huge grin at the comment.

“Noisy Little Grasper! That’s funny! That one I like!” the mossy-haired boy replied as he doubled over with laughter, along with the three other girls.

“Feh. I’m not _that_ noisy!” Noriko cried as all four laughed even harder at the look on her face.

“I suppose we can work on the name later,” the blond said as he looked over from Ryuichi to Noriko when the laughter finally died down. “But for now, we can be Noisy Little Grasper, at least until we think of something better,” Tohma decided thoughtfully before he scooted over on the piano bench. Ryuichi, seeing room to sit down, joined him, a huge grin still on his face, which caused Tohma to smile as well.

“I’m glad that’s over with! It’s good you two aren’t mad at each other any more! I don’t like to see fighting,” Noriko said as she watched the pair. Ryuichi turned to smile at the lavender-haired girl and nodded in her direction.

“Thanks a bunch Noriko-san, for talking to me before. I owe you,” he told her.

She huffed and glared at him. “We’re friends, Ryuichi! You don’t have to thank me, it’s to be expected!”

She watched as Ryuichi scooted over before he turned to look up at Tohma, who smiled briefly before he scooted over nearly to the end of the bench. Adjusting themselves to add room to the bench, both boys turned to look at Noriko as Ryuichi patted the seat next to him with the huge smile once again on his face.

“Come on Noriko, you’re a member of the band! You should come sit with us!” he said as Tohma nodded in agreement.

“What about us?” Arumi cried as she watched the three band members sit on the piano bench together.

“Oh that’s easy. We’re their fanclub,” Anzu said casually as Fuu nodded in agreement.

“Then we need a name as well!” Arumi said thoughtfully as the two girls gazed at the third as while the three musicians listened to the interplay.

“How about NLG fangirls?” Fuu proposed.

“That won’t work. What if they end up with boys in the club as well? I don’t think they would like being called ‘fangirls,” Anzu explained as Arumi nodded her agreement.

“How about the ‘Noisy Little Grasper 4 Ever’ fan club then?” Fuu said.

“Now that sounds much better!” Arumi commented as Anzu smiled her acceptance.

“Awesome! Now we’re a band with a fanclub! How cool is that?” Ryuichi chirped as the members of the new 'Noisy Little Grasper 4 Ever' fanclub settled down once again to watch the trio on the piano bench.

“It’s all well and good, but unless we do more than one performance, it’s useless, Ryuichi-san,” Tohma pointed out.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to remain a band after the cultural fair, then,” Noriko answered, a smug look on her face.

Tohma gazed coolly at the pair sitting on the bench next to him. “I’ll have to seriously think about it. I still wish to become a concert pianist. After all, it is my parents’ dream. They’ve paid for me to have the finest teachers since I was two years old,” the blond explained.

“But what about what you want, Tohma? Do you want to be a concert pianist…or a rock god?” Ryuichi asked as he gazed into the blond’s eyes.

Tohma thought about that question as everyone else watched the golden boy. Finally, he turned to his fellow band members. “I’ll have to give it some serious consideration…after the cultural fair. But for now, let’s focus on deciding which songs we wish to perform.

“I say we do a cover and then an original song,” proposed Noriko. “Maybe the one I was working on…?”

“That song’s too slow, Noriko! I wanna rock!” Ryuichi piped in.

“Well, we _could_ speed the song up. After all, it has a great beat to it,” Tohma stated. “If you would start your song please Hoshina-san…” he said as he gestured for her to begin playing.

“It’s Noriko, Tohma-san, and sure thing!” She chirped as she once again cracked here knuckles, which caused the platinum blond to wince once more, and then began to play.

She played the song up to where she had stopped once before while both boys listened. “I have an idea where to go with this,” Tohma offered, adding on to what she had already played.

“Wait, let me hear that again!” the lavender-haired girl cried. He played it once more as she listened carefully, then she played it back while he closed his eyes and listened carefully.

“I have an idea!” Ryuichi suddenly said as he scooted back on the piano bench and got his bookbag, patting Kumagorou on the head as he passed the plushie. Reaching inside, he pulled out a notebook and a pencil. Retaking his seat on the bench, he listened and occasionally wrote while the pair worked on the song.

By the time the sun had reached the horizon, Noisy Little Grasper had the basics of its first original song hammered out, and the members of the 'Noisy Little Grasper 4 Ever Official Fanclub' had figured out who had what executive positions. As each member parted to go home, each group promised to eat lunches together and continue working together, as both a band and its official fanclub.

*~*~*~*~*  


So, the talented musical trio began to perfect their first original song. Each day at lunch, the members of Noisy Little Grasper would meet in the music room, working on it diligently while Ryuichi would work on the lyrics. After school they would meet at the school gates, walk to Tohma’s home, do their homework, then work on perfecting their song in the brightly lit music room, making wonderful music and becoming closer and closer as friends.

As the Noisy Little Grasper fan club members began to coalesce into diehard fans, they would sometimes go to the band's practices to listen. And at lunchtime they’d hammer out their rules and regulations and plan the souvenirs and other various and sundry fan-related items to sell in preparation for the band’s debut at the cultural fair, all ideas of the cooking demonstration laid by the wayside.

And every time the members of 'Noisy Little Grasper 4 Ever' spoke to Tohma, he would pooh-pooh their efforts at creating rules and regulations, sigh and say, “I’ll have to seriously think about it. I still wish to become a concert pianist,” insisting that beyond the fair he would go no further.

Every time, Noriko would secretly tell the fanclub members to continue their efforts, Ryuichi standing nearby and nodding in agreement with her, for they were slowly changing the golden boy’s mind toward becoming a rock musician.

Thus the last few weeks before the fair were spent in enthusiastic preparation for the approaching cultural fair.

No one could have foreseen what was about to happen, not even the smallest boy in both buildings.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Tsuzuku  
(To Be Continued)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: I wish to thank “my Noriko” from GNG for being the spunky chic you are, and “my Yuuji,” from GNG for miniRyuichi’s pics. Having those pics to look at helped me see my Butterfly Boy, thus helped me write this chapter. Domoarigato. *deep bow*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
> Songs mentioned in this track:  
> * _'Killer Queen’_ by Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZBtPf7FOoM  
>  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


	4. Track Four: Cocoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mean people suck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
> Japanese/explanations in this track:  
> *Otōsan – Father, honorific  
> *According to my research, and family and friends living and working in Japan, nearly anything can be bought at convenient stores. (^_~)  
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
> 
> Originally written in 2008CE.

Excerpts from _‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock God’_ by Yuki Eiri

 

_Ryuichi-san’s incapable of hate. The least he could garner is indifference. The most, pity.”_

Seguchi Tohma, when asked about Sakuma-san’s stepfather's alleged abuse  


*~*~*

_“Such an extraordinary talent and such an extraordinary personality. I’m often asked what he was like as a teen. I usually just tell those who ask, ‘just look at him now, his personality has yet to change.’”_

Masumoto Hideaki, journalist for The Tokyo Times, Nittle Grasper official media liaison and longtime personal friend of Sakuma Ryuichi  
*~*~*

 

Unknown to Noriko, the three fans of Noisy Little Grasper and even to Tohma, (although the astute blond suspected something), Ryuichi did not have a happy home life. His home life was what made the smallest boy in his school so shy and so quiet. 

Ryuichi’s father had died when the lad was only five, and Manami, his pretty young mother had remarried Ichimura Kenji, a man twenty two years her senior, trapped in a middle management position he hated. The only thing he hated more was the idea of his wife having a son from a previous marriage, especially since he was unable to father any children himself. 

Eighteen years prior to meeting Manami, he had an accident with a steel beam at his previous construction worker job. It left him unable to father children as well as a slave to testosterone pills. The idea of not “being a whole man” any longer turned the proud, once muscular man into a physically slim, pale shadow of himself, as well as cruel, angry and bitter. 

Thus the usually angry man would often hit the mossy-haired boy and say vicious things at nearly every chance he could in an effort to “toughen him up.” The undersized teen was made to feel as though nothing he did was ever good enough for his cruel stepfather, despite making every effort to please him. The only thing that seemed to please Ichimura was when he struck the teen, usually making sure to do so in places that could be covered up by Ryuichi's school uniform. Ryuichi was too often glad that his school blazer covered up the bruises his small body had, even though he was sometimes forced to wear the long-sleeved jacket even in the heat of the summer sun. 

Manami, who dearly loved her boy, felt powerless to stop the merciless emotional and physical assault the teen underwent. So as a way to compensate, she would shower the teen with her love, having long talks with her young son, but only when her husband wasn’t around. She would often take the money she earned as a house-cleaner to buy toys and other gifts more fitting for the five year old boy he was when his father died, which confused the teen even more. 

The shy, emotionally withdrawn teen never invited anyone into his home, nor did he wish for his band mates to meet his family. He did so out of fear of his new-found friends’ pity and their rejection, and most of all, out of shame for his miserable and often confusing home life. 

To make things worse, Ryuichi was the butt of many a cruel prank and comment while at school, thanks to Arakaki Katashi and his band of bullies. 

It was during his first month at M Academy's middle school, and after a night of being yelled at by his stepfather - which resulted in one of Manami's feeble attempts to save her son from the verbal abuse - that an exhausted Ryuichi stumbled and fell towards Arakaki while waiting in the school lunch line. Ryuichi’s newly open milk carton spilled its contents all over the much larger boy. 

As the other students laughed at the mishap, Arakaki pushed Ryuichi, causing him to nearly bump into another one of his ruffian friends, who then pushed Ryuichi back into Arakaki. “Stop pushing the school messenger boy around,” the lunch lady yelled. 

That accident as well as the lunch lady's well-meaning interference was all the impetus that Arakaki's gang needed to turn Ryuichi's life into a living hell....as long as there were no teachers around. 

Until Tohma came into in his life, Ryuichi did not get a break from abuse at home nor at school.

Thus it was extremely remarkable that despite so much mental and physical abuse, Ryuichi was beginning to show glimpses of his true self, sometimes even smiling while in class, especially when he was around Tohma and Noriko, and even occasionally smiling at home.

Unfortunately for him, Ryuichi’s callous stepfather did _not_ like the new way the teen’s personality was changing. 

*~*~*~*~*  


One Friday in early September, after a particularly rough day of bullying at school, Ryuichi came home from school to the family’s small apartment and immediately began his usual after-school routine after first wishing Tohma a good evening at the door of their apartment.

He did chores first, and then homework, which was a lot easier since Tohma had explained how to do it on the long walk home, before he cooked and refrigerated dinner for the family since his mother was at her part-time job as a house-cleaner and his stepfather qas working late as usual.

When the teen was done with his routine, he decided to take a well-deserved soak. Carefully placing Kumagorou on the edge of the tub so that the bunny wouldn’t fall into the hot water, Ryuichi settled into the small, American-styled bathtub, momentarily stopping as he thought he heard a sound. Perking ears made sensitive from years of listening for his angry stepfather, the olive-haired teen waited to hear if the sound would repeat, but when he heard nothing else after listening for a while longer, he settled back in the hot water to relax before his parents were due back home. The combination of heat and the stresses of the school day soon caused the exhausted lad’s eyelids to close over his sapphire eyes as he settled himself further down in the water and all too quickly drifted off to sleep.

The sliding door to the bathroom slamming open rudely woke the teen from his doze. Grabbing Kumagorou and holding him behind his back, Ryuichi looked up to find his stepfather standing over him, staring down at the nude teen with expressionless brown eyes. Ryuichi abruptly sat up in the bathtub, sloshing water onto his stepfather’s slippers and soaking the plushie as the boy gazed up into his dull brown eyes and waited for him to speak.

“I hear that your grades have improved, Ryuichi-kun. Yet you haven’t gone to cram school for a while,” Ichimura Kenji began, the much larger man glaring down at the tiny boy curling around the soggy plushie, ignoring for the moment the hot water seeping through his socks.

“Y…yes otosan. That’s true. My friend Tohma…” Ryuichi began as Ichimura cut off the rest of the boy’s sentence by backhanding him, knocking the adolescent into the back wall of the tub and splashing more hot water onto Ichimura-san’s blue suit pants. Terrified, Ryuichi put his free hand on his face as blood ran from his now broken nose into the bathwater as he stared up at his stepfather. 

“You’re lying, aren’t you boy? You haven’t been to cram school at all, have you? You cheated on those tests, didn’t you?” the man hissed.

“No otosan, I studied for them! Tohma helped me! I didn’t cheat…” the teen once again began as another large hand grabbed his hair and lifted the struggling boy into a more upright position, Kumagorou in a death grip in the small teen’s hand, dripping and dangling by one leg still behind his back. Bringing his face close to Ryuichi’s, the teen smelled alcohol on his stepfather’s breath as the man continued.

“You cheated and now you’re lying to me to cover up the fact that you cheated, aren’t you!” Ichimura bellowed as Ryuichi tried to shake his head, his azure eyes wide with fear as more blood flew.

“No…no! I didn’t cheat, I didn't! I studied! I did!” Ryuichi cried, hot tears of fear and pain leaking from his eyes, mixing in with the water and blood on his face.

Picking up the diminutive boy by an arm, Ichimura forced Ryuichi out of the tub. Nearly throwing the boy out the small bathroom, he bellowed, “How _dare_ you lie to me! I’m gonna beat your ass for lying to my face! Your cheating ways have brought shame to this family, to _my family’s name!”_

The much larger man unfastened his leather belt, pulling it from the loops on his pants. Following Ryuichi as the teen ran into the main living area, he stood over the smaller boy, the belt-wielding arm raised and a vindictive smirk on his face as the small teen cowered nude against the bookshelf that covered one entire wall, his nose still dripping blood as he raised the arm that still gripped the pink bunny. 

“Otosan, I did not cheat! I studied hard and earned my grades! I didn’t bring shame to you nor your family’s name, I swear! Please believe me!” Ryuichi yelled as Ichimura brought down the strap hard on the boy’s upraised arm, where it wrapped itself around the thin limb, the buckle hitting Kumagorou in the back. Yelping in pain, Ryuichi did something he had never done before; he yanked his arm down hard, forcing the belt out of his stepfather’s grasp. 

Realizing what he had done, the teen panicked as Ichimura’s eyes widened then narrowed at the bold action. Growling, the enraged man reached toward the terrified boy, who ducked and ran toward the apartment door leading to the outside. Opening the door, he ran, still naked out of the small second floor apartment and down the stairs, the belt still wrapped around his arm and the plushie still in his hand while Ichimura-san followed, bellowing for him to return. 

Not paying attention to where he was going, Ryuichi ran, full tilt out into the street that ran in front of his building.

 

Masumoto Hideaki was tired, driving on autopilot, the sun dipping below the buildings as he made his way home. It had been a rough day at his new intern job at The Tokyo Times, and the journalism professor whose lecture he had just finished at the local community college was extremely dry and boring, but necessary for any kind of a shot at a real journalism career. Thus the twenty-three year old had been practically falling asleep at the wheel when a pale shape ran out of nowhere and ended up in front of his car. 

Hitting the brakes a split second too late and feeling the “thump”, Masumoto stopped the vehicle and opened the car door, nearly running as he headed toward the front of his car to see what he had inadvertently hit. Cold panic ran through his veins as he realized his car had struck what seemed to be a nude ten year old boy carrying a pink stuffed rabbit, a thick piece of leather wrapped around his forearm . The boy appeared to be out cold, his small, bloody body covered with bruises in various stages of healing and the left side of his chest now slightly caved in from the car’s impact as a woman on the sidewalk screamed. 

“Call for an ambulance, quick!” Masumoto yelled at the crowd that began to gather around to watch the spectacle. Taking off his suit jacket, Hideaki gently raised the boy’s head and placed it underneath, cradling the boy’s head in his lap as trickles of blood ran from both his nose and mouth. The journalism student’s sharp eyes also took note of the belt still wrapped around the boy’s arm and the beginning of a large bump where the boy’s head had hit the ground. An older woman came over to cover up the boy’s nakedness with her coat as a man ran up and stood over Hideaki and the boy, his hand over his mouth.

“Ryuichi-kun! I…I didn’t mean for this to happen…but he cheated, he did!” the man began, his voice slurring as he did a poor attempt to defend himself while taking in what had just occurred. Hearing the slurred voice, Hideaki turned to look up at the man, who looked as if he had been drenched from the waist down, blood droplets on his now ruined undershirt. Glancing up and down at the man, Hideaki mentally noted that the man wore wet indoor slippers on his feet as distant sirens began to be heard.

An ambulance and a police car quickly pulled onto the scene. When the police officers stepped out of their vehicle, Hideaki pointed to the slippered man. 

“This guy is involved in this! He must have somehow caused this kid to run out into the street! Look at this kid’s body! He should be taken in for questioning!” Hideaki shouted as the man looked helplessly at the officers before falling onto his knees, his arms down by his side. 

The police officers took in the scene before them as the paramedics rushed over to the unconscious boy and began working on him, pointing out to the officers some of the old bruises on the teen when a paramedic moved the coat that was covering him. Seeing the injuries, one officer placed an authoritative hand on the half-wet man’s shoulder while the other pulled out a notebook and began to interview nearby witnesses. 

“Please sir, it was an accident! I only wanted to punish Ryuichi-kun for cheating on his tests! He wasn’t supposed to run!” Ichimura shrieked as the policeman sniffed closely at Ichimura’s alcohol-laden breath before looking him up and down, pulling out a pair of handcuffs and placing them on the still-kneeling man. A second police car pulled onto the scene and two more policemen began directing the back-up traffic. 

The paramedics carefully placed a neck collar on the still unconscious Ryuichi, positioned the boy onto a backboard, strapped him down, put the backboard onto the cot and then into the back of the ambulance, one gently tucking in the soggy Kumagorou under the top cot strap. Ichimura-san, his voice slurring, yelled, “Damn you boy! If you hadn’t run, I wouldn’t be arrested! Just wait until I get my hands back on you!” 

The arresting policeman frowned at that statement and told the irate man, “I think that you’d better worry about what’s going to happen to _you_ rather than how you’re going to punish him. If I had it my way, you’d never see that boy again!” he warned as Ichimura was pushed toward the closest police car and rather roughly placed in the back seat, the cop slamming the door hard as Ichimura continued his loud rant in the back seat. 

The officer with the notebook walked back over to the police car, its flashing red and blue lights throwing the entire twilight-lit scene into stark relief as he sat in the front seat and brusquely asked the raving man in the back seat a few questions before getting out and heading over to the still open ambulance doors. 

“The kid’s name is Sakuma Ryuichi, and he’s sixteen, according to his stepfather in the back set of my cruiser. Witnesses say that the kid was chased out into the street and the man that was taking care of him on the scene hit the boy with his car. My partner and I will check on the boy and get a statement from Sakuma-kun once we’re done questioning the suspect at the station. Hopefully the kid will be awake by then,” the cop told the medics as one placed an IV into Ryuichi’s skinny arm. 

“That’s fine officer. We’re going to Tokyo Medical’s emergency room with him,” one medic said as the other paramedic jumped out of the back of the ambulance and hurried over to the driver’s seat.

Lights and sirens going as the ambulance sped away, Masumoto sighed before going over to the police car. Pulling out his driver’s license, he handed it to one of the two cops who stood outside of the car talking, their eyes occasionally flickering to the man in their back seat, who had finally quieted down and sat, hanging his head. 

“How can I find out what happens to that kid? I still feel partly responsible. Besides, I’d like to bring him a gift,” Matsumoto admitted. 

The officer with the notepad flipped to the correct page and wrote down Masumoto’s license information and asked him to tell him what happened before answering. 

“We’d like for you to come to the station and fill out an official accident report, Masumoto-san. He’s probably going to end up in Tokyo Medical’s pediatric unit. It seems that that boy’s actually sixteen, he’s just small for his age, according to his stepfather. That’s the stepfather, Ichimura Kenji in the back of the car. The kid’s name is Sakuma Ryuichi.”

“Sakuma Ryuichi,” Masumoto repeated before pulling out his own small notepad and a pen from his back pants pocket. He wrote down the information he was just given as well as a few notes before nodding and putting away the notepad and pen. 

“Thank you officers, I’ll head down to the station right now,” he said before he bowed and headed back to his own car, going around to the front of it. Standing in front of the car, he stared down at his now bloody jacket coat as it lay on the ground before picking it up and tossing it into the back seat of the car. Getting in, he inhaled deep, and then blew out as he put his head down on the steering wheel.

 _‘I’ll head to the hospital after I fill out the report and stay only for a few minutes. I just want to make sure that Sakuma-kun’s okay. Besides, that kid has a story to tell,’_ he thought as he pulled away from the accident scene, occasionally glancing in his rear view mirror at the police car’s flashing lights before he made a necessary turn towards the police station. 

After a few hours of questioning and filling out paperwork, Matsumoto was finally allowed to leave the police station. Getting into his car he headed towards Tokyo Medical. Once he was close to the hospital, he stopped at a local convenient store and bought a few items before pulling into the ER parking lot. 

*~*~*~*~*  
Ichimura Manami came home to a disaster. As she went to put in the key to open the door of her family’s small apartment, she noticed that the door was not quite closed. Carefully pushing open the door, the first thing she saw was that some of the books from the bookshelf near the front door has been knocked off their shelf, and that they lay in what seemed to be a puddle of red water in front of the bookshelf, and that a water and blood-stained trail led deeper into the residence. 

Cautiously, she walked further in, following the trail of water and blood towards the bathroom. One look at the mess that met her when she slid open the door was enough for her to begin screaming out her son’s name. Never before had her husband caused Ryuichi to bleed. Frantic, she searched every inch of the apartment for her small son, hoping to find him still hiding somewhere. Finding nothing, she ran out of the apartment and finally saw that the blood droplets led away from the apartment and down the stairs. Carefully following them, she lost the trail as it led away from the building.

“You’re that boy’s mom, aren’t you, Ma’am? The one that was hit by a car. I saw and heard everything. It was scary,” a child’s voice said as Manami searched around, trying to find where the voice was coming from. Paling at the comment, she quickly turned around and saw a small girl partially hidden behind one of the trees in front of the building.

“Yes. Ryuichi-kun is my son. Can you tell me what happened? I won’t hurt you, you can come out,” Manami assured, her heart beating hard in her chest at the news.

A dirty-faced girl, no more than seven came out from behind the tree as Manami squatted down to her level and beckoned the girl closer. 

“I like your son…Ryuichi-san. He gives me candy every now and then. My family lives right under you. Ryuichi-san’s daddy hits him a lot. Did you know that?” the girl asked, her muddy face serious. The pretty woman nodded as a sad look came across her face

“My name’s Oohara Chiaki,” the girl said, bowing low. 

“I’m Ichimura Manami, and Ichimura Kenji-san is Ryuichi’s stepfather,” Manami solemnly replied as she stood and returned the bow before squatting down once more. Repeating the question, Manami once again asked in a soft voice, ”Chiaki-chan? Can you tell me what you saw? I need to find my son.” 

Chiaki nodded as she gazed into Manami’s worried face before taking a deep breath. “Ryuichi-san didn’t have any clothes on and he ran into the street, and his daddy was chasing him, yelling really loud. He ran in front of a car and it hit him and Ryuichi-san fell asleep in the street. The man in the car got out and put his jacket under Ryuichi-san’s head and his daddy yelled some more. The police came and so did the ambulance. The ambulance people put Ryuichi-san in the ambulance and drove away with the sirens going and the lights blinking. I think Ryuichi-san was still sleeping, he didn’t wake up the whole time. The policemen took Ryuichi-san’s daddy and put him in the police car and drove off. And then I went over to play in the water,” she explained breathlessly, pointing toward a mud puddle in the empty lot next to the building.

Manami stood and once again bowed low to the girl. “Thank you very much, Oohara-san. Now I can find my son. And whenever I have candy, I’ll be sure to give you some,” she called over her shoulder while she hurried back toward the building. 

Going inside of the messy apartment once again, she pulled out a public phonebook and picked up the phone. Turning first to the section with hospitals, she began making calls.

*~*~*  
Masumoto Hideaki walked up to the nurses’ desk on the pediatric floor of Tokyo Medical, shifting the plastic bag he was carrying. The thirty-something nurse that was sitting behind the desk writing looked up as he approached and smiled benignly at the short, slightly pudgy younger man with the tired eyes.

“Can I help you sir?” she asked, wearing an expression of boredom as she took in the unassuming man in front of her. 

“I’d like to visit Sakuma Ryuichi-kun’s room. I’m his uncle and I heard he was injured. I want to bring him a gift. I work nights, and this is the only time I can come see him” he lied, hopefully convincingly as he smiled down at the nurse.

“Well, unfortunately, he’s sleeping,” she began, putting her hand under her chin. “The doctors said that he has a mild concussion but he won’t wake up. They said there’s no reason for him not to be awake by now,” she told him as Masumoto shifted slightly, the plastic bag making a crinkling noise.

“Id still like to see him. And then maybe you and I can go out for a nice walk,” he suggested in a sweet voice, smiling as he pulled out a carnation and handed it to the nurse, who took it, smiled in return and gestured for him to lean closer.

“No visitors, Doctor’s orders,” she said in just as sweet a voice.

Luckily, Matsumoto was expecting that reaction. So he resorted to Plan B.

“Well, we _could_ ignore the doctor’s orders, just this once, couldn’t we?” he asked smoothly, smiling even wider as he pulled out a bottle of top-shelf convenient store sake. 

Her eyes opening wide, she looked to either side of the long hallway as if expecting to see her supervisor approaching, who she knew was asleep on a cot in a linen closet far away from the potentially noisy desk.

“Well…you ARE his uncle,” the nurse began as she smiled up at the plain-looking man from where she was sitting. Looking once more down the hallway where she knew her supervisor was sleeping, she grabbed a mini bottle of mouthwash from a desk drawer and stood.

"Matsumoto-san, I will let you peek in on your nephew for a few moments... _if_ you agree to share your drink with me,” she murmured, eyeing the sake bottle greedily. 

“Absolutely. I will only be a few minutes,” he replied, handing her the bottle. “Ladies first,” he said as she took the bottle and placed it under the desk where she had been sitting.

Quickly leading Matsumoto to the small teen’s room, she opened the door and quietly told him, “I will return in a few minutes. Make it quick, we don’t normally allow visitors this late at night,” she before hurrying back to the desk, pulling out her coffee cup and filling the empty container with sake. 

Matsumoto walked over to the side of the bed where the small boy lay, half-uncovered by the sheet he was lying under, seemingly sleeping. Watching the way his bandaged ribs moved as he breathed, he reached into his bag and pulled out a small tiger plushie wearing a t-shirt that read “Get Well Soon!” and placed it on the nightstand, next to a damp, dirty pink plushie rabbit.

Quietly moving the chair closer to the bed, Matsumoto sat down and gazed for a while into the teen’s face, taking note of the broken nose and the two black eyes he now sported. Taking a deep breath, the journalism student reached out as if to pat the sleeping teen, then seemed to think better of it and instead picked up the well-worn rabbit and placed it at the boy's side instead as he began to speak.

“Look Sakuma-kun. I really wasn’t paying attention while I was driving. I was tired from working my new job and coming home from yet another lecture from my boring professor. But those are nothing but excuses. I should have paid attention to where I was going, then maybe when you ran out into the road, I would have been able to stop in time. But, from looking at these older bruises you’re sporting, it seems me hitting you isn’t your biggest problem. I don’t know what you did to make your stepfather so pissed that he’d chase you into the street, but I’m sure either way it wasn’t a fair fight. I have a friend that works in the emergency room and it seems that this isn’t the first time you’ve come here after “being clumsy,” or “doing something stupid.’ “ 

Matsumoto sat at the side of the bed for a little while longer, then stood. Taking his hand off the side rail, he momentarily touched the small boy’s shoulder with his fingertips.

“I’d like to help you, Sakuma-kun. I don’t know how yet, but I will. It’s the least I could do.” 

Getting up out of the chair just as the nurse opened the door and peeked, the journalism student gazed down at the mossy-haired lad once more before turning to go, a thoughtful expression on his face as he followed her back to the desk. Leaning a hip against it, he smiled down at her as he asked, “So. When do you go on your lunch break?” 

*~*~*  
“Ryuichi? Ryu-kun? Come on boy, let’s go fly a kite! Let’s fly everyone!” Ryuichi heard a loud, yet kind voice say in a sing-song voice. The olive-haired boy instantly recognized the carefree voice as he felt himself being picked up and placed on a pair of strong shoulders. Hanging on tight to the leg of a slightly dirty pink plushie bunny, he made himself comfortable.. 

_‘He’s…he’s my daddy!’_ five-year-old Ryuichi said to himself, instantly recognizing his father’s beloved voice when he heard the familiar saying. He looked around, beaming when he realized that he was much higher than the other people standing with them on the train platform.

“Here, Ryu-kun, have a piece of candy,” his father suggested as a graceful, yet masculine hand held up a bright red lollipop. Shoving Kumagorou inside the front of his shorts so that the toy’s upper half flopped out, the small boy took the candy.

“Not too much, Natori, we don’t want to spoil his appetite for the picnic,” a younger Manami fussed as beaming, her husband reached out with his free hand and grasped the hand of hers that wasn’t holding the picnic basket. Her pretty face turning a delicate shade of pink, she giggled while the five-year-old Ryuichi gazed down into her smiling face, mirroring her smile. 

_‘I never want to forget this feeling, this feeling of always being happy!’_ the boy thought, giggling as he placed one of his arms around his father’s large olive-colored head, the other hand holding onto the lollipop. 

The throng moved closer to the yellow line painted on the concrete ground as Ryuichi looked around for his mother, losing her in the crowd when it once again surged toward as the incoming train’s whistle blared. 

Suddenly, the young boy heard people yell as he felt himself flying, the lollipop falling to be lost in the shifting crowd. 

For some reason, the only thing the small boy could focus on was his plushie’s limp ears in the front of his shorts. 

_‘I’m flying.”_

A woman’s voice screamed as he was caught by many arms, preventing him from hitting the hard station floor. The boy was placed gently on the ground as a man took off his coat and placed it over his legs.

 _‘Rain? Its raining inside of the train station,’_ Ryuichi thought to himself as he felt droplets fall upon his upturned face and arms. 

Still dazed by the thought of ‘flying’ like his daddy used to always say, he looked up into many strange faces, most filled with pity and concern. Wiping his face, he found his fingers stained red as the woman’s voice continued to scream on and on, seeming to not take a breath, sirens joining in to the pandemonium.

“Daddy? Daddy, where are you?” Ryuichi cried out, only to watch the hovering faces turn completely to pity as the voice continued to scream, a second voice joining in. 

_‘NO! NO! I DON’T WANT TO REMEMBER THIS!’_ he thought as he realized the first screaming person was his mother…and that the second voice was his own. 

Holding tight on to the damp plushie bunny now somehow in his arms as he awoke screaming from the memory, the small teen in the large hospital bed sat bolt upright and began to weep, not the quiet sounds of a teenager upset over finding out that Life isn’t always fair, but the heart wrenching sobs of a small child lamenting, crying for daddy in the hopes that said loving parent would come and chase away the monsters that were scaring him. As if with the appearance of his long-departed father, all would be right with the world him; as if nothing bad could ever happen to him as long as he stayed safe within daddy’s strong, loving arms.

Too bad the world doesn’t always work that way.

After a while, the tone of his crying changed as Ryuichi began to morn for his father, something he did not have a chance to do at the time of his father’s untimely death, being too young to understand what had actually happened.

He cried for the loss of his father’s loving, protective arms. He cried for his mother, too afraid of the man she had married to prevent him from hurting her only child. He cried for himself, for being forced to see the harshness that the world can sometimes throw at someone, even if they’re too young to understand it at first.

But most of all, he cried for the happy boy that he was before the dark curtain of death parted him from the one person who protected him from Life’s monsters.

Some time later, Ryuichi’s confused mind finally realized he was no longer the innocent five-year-old boy, but nearly a man of sixteen when more recent memories, many of them not pleasant, tried to flood the boy’s vision with other red scenes of unhappiness. 

His only witnesses, Kumagorou as well as the small toy tiger, seemed to smile gently at the boy, trying in their own plushie ways to calm the crying teen. 

Still trying to catch his breath, Ryuichi attempted to inhale a deep breath, instead only managed a quiet gasp as sharp pains hit as his broken ribs made themselves known. 

Temporarily unburying the horrific memories, he quietly declared to the plushie pair in the night-darkened room, “Mom thinks I’m still that boy, so _I will be that boy!_ _I_ will be happy so that I make _her_ happy! I will sing and play and be the happy clown so that no one around me feels sad like I feel now!” Ryuichi decided. 

From where he sat, Kumagorou’s smile seemed to widen at the declaration as the teen gingerly reached for him for their nightly snuggle. Ryuichi pushed his declaration deep into his subconscious before settling down for the first truly restful sleep he had had in a very, very long time.

Its eyes shining in the dim light of a nearby streetlight, the tiger sat on the nightstand, a single brief sparkle also showing that it agreed with Ryuichi ‘s verdict.

 

*~*~*  
It was well after 2am when, breathless and still upset from searching for her family, Manami finally made her way into Ryuichi’s room. Having pulled out ID and pictures to prove to the thirty-something night nurse that she was indeed Ryuichi’s mother and _not_ his slightly older sister, the nurse, after explaining that the boy was “unwakable, but not in a coma,“ got up from her desk long enough to show the worried mother to the teen’s room before quickly returning and resuming the conversation she had been having with a rather unassuming, pudgy younger man.

Gasping as she saw her son's broken nose and black eyes, Manami set her jaw as she made her decision. Not seeing the tiger plushie on the nearby nightstand, Manami sank slowly down in the chair closest to the bed. Sighing with the relief of finally managing to find her son, she noticed as a single tear make its way down her boy’s cheek while he lay curled around his ever-present pink bunny. Taking the corner of the sheet he was lying under, she wiped away his tear, only to watch as another replaced it.

“Ryuichi? Ryu-kun? Its Mommy. Can you hear me? Wake up, please,” she murmured in a hushed, yet insistent voice. 

The boy slept on, seemingly incapable of hearing her. 

Thinking back to the night nurse explaining that Ryuichi was unconscious, Manami sighed and stroked his hair as she began to talk in a low voice, hoping against hope that her only child could hear her. 

“I know I haven’t been the best mother to you, Ryuichi. I wanted you to have a father, and instead, I married a man that hurt you time and time again. I didn’t protect you from Kenji-san whenever you needed it, I should have, but I couldn’t. After losing your Dad, I became so afraid of losing Kenji-san, of losing those I love period…but after nearly losing you because of your stepfather’s actions, I don’t care about him anymore! I’ve decided to file for divorce, so it’ll just be you and I, Ryu-kun. The people I work for are really nice, and they want me as their full-time head of housekeeping, with a huge pay increase! I told them that I have a son and that we’ll need a place to live, so they said that we could live in the cottage that they have on their property. With your grades improving like they have been, you too should be okay. 

Things will be rough for a bit while we get used to these big changes, but I’m sure that we’ll be fine, as long as you and I stick together. No more secrets between us, Ryuichi. I don’t ever what you to feel as if we can’t talk. I don’t ever want you to feel alone again.” 

Stroking her son’s cheek, she leaned in and kissed it. Taking one of his hands from around his bunny, she smiled gently and whispered, “You’re the most important person in my life, Ryu-kun, I just wanted you to know that.”

“I know that Mom, I always have,” Ryuichi murmured back, opening his sapphire eyes and smiling up at her momentarily shocked face as recognition finally flooded his own. She smiled back, her own equally deep blue eyes wide as he painfully sat up in bed. 

Slowly scooting himself and Kuma over to one side, he patted the bed next to him, inviting his pretty mom to join him like they used to do when he was younger. She lowered the rail and eagerly climbed into bed with him as he moved down and put his head on her soft lap.

“Mom, I knew that you were having a hard time with otosan. I saw a lot more than I let on. I don’t quite understand it all, but maybe someday I will. I want you to know I’ll be okay,” he explained as she stroked his olive-colored locks. 

“I know that Ryu-kun. You’re stronger than you let on. _We’re_ stronger than we let on,” she exclaimed.

And so, mother and son quietly talked as they sat together in the bed, each reaffirming bonds the other had thought were broken by the angry, pathetic man who now sat fuming in a concrete jail cell.

*~*  
All too soon the Saturday morning sun crept into the hospital room, and shone into the face of the teen, who awoke to see that his mother had also fallen asleep. Lifting his sore head up from her lap, he gently tapped her leg to awaken her. She rubbed her eyes while Ryuichi yawned and carefully stretched just as the doctor walked into the room.

“Ah, I see the two of you are awake! Welcome back to the world of the living, Ryuichi-kun,” the doctor joked as he went over to the bed and began to examine the teen. 

Giving the boy a clean bill of health and writing notes in the chart by his bed, the doctor assured Manami that her son had two cracked ribs on his right side, a hairline fracture to his nose, a concussion and a bump on the back of his head, along with various and sundry bumps and bruises but no other lasting side effects from the previous day’s accident. He left the room to finish filling out paperwork and to discharge the mossy-haired teen from his care.

As they checked out of the hospital and entered the battered old car Manami owned, the mossy-haired teen became quiet, and stayed so the entire ride to their small apartment, desperately hugging the two plushies that now took up his lap. 

As the vehicle pulled up to the building, Manami looked over to her silent son. “What’s wrong, Ryu-kun?” she asked, slightly worried.

“Is…is otosan there?” he queried in a small voice.

She giggled a bit as she replied, “No he’s sitting in a cold jail cell for assaulting you and causing you to run out into the street and get hit! And when he gets out, we’ll be long gone! Now smile, my son, this chapter of our lives is over, and there’s nothing but blue skies and clear flying from here on, I promise!” she explained, turning off the car.

Not quite believing that the years of mental and physical abuse from his stepfather was about to be over, Ryuichi stared at his mom as she got out of her side of the car and came around to his side of the battered car. Picking up the newer plushie and putting it under one arm, she held out her opposite hand. Still clinging to Kumagorou, the teen took it and slowly got out, echoing her smile as they headed toward their soon-to-be former home.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Tsuzuku  
(To Be Continued)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

A/N:  
Gravitation is owned by Murakami Maki-sensei as well as its various companies. I only use her characters out of love for their eccentric and unique personalities, as well as with the deepest reverence for her and her work. Any other characters are my creation; they exist purely to help enhance the storyline. 

 

A pic that Listy Rayne from deviantart.com’s ‘Ryuichi Fangirls’ helped inspire me to write this chapter. She drew a picture titled ‘Uncle’s Drunk Again’. Something about that picture captured me. Go check it out and comment on it, it’s brilliant…and to me at least, horrifying, especially since I so relate to Ryuichi. (Yes, I even have a bunny obsession, just ask my friends about Kuma George! (^_^) ) 

http://listy.deviantart.com/art/Uncle-s-Drunk-Again-51990419?offset=0#comments  
(I hope she doesn’t mind me pimping out her work….)

I know that normally if someone yells while in a hospital, people would come running, and that a nurse would probably accompany anyone running in a hospital’s halls. Just think “artistic license,” okay? 

Domo arigato to GNG Shuichi for literally giving me a particularly tricky sentence that I couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to write, and to GNG/FB Eiri for saving you readers from one of my run-on sentence paragraphs. It was a fate that would have made this story read really weird if they hadn't helped. Much love to you both!

Any final tweaking to this story is all my fault.


	5. Track Five: Emergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, Life sucks.
> 
> And sometimes it throws you for a loop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gomen nasai that its taken me so long to post this, but I could have _sworn_ that I posted Track Five a long time ago! OTL
> 
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
> 
> Originally written in 2008CE.

 

 

Excerpts from _‘Sparkle and Shine: the True Story of a Rock God’_ by Yuki Eiri

 

 

“… _after the accident, my son changed. His personality did a complete turnaround. I’m…sometimes not so sure that that was a good thing…”_

 

Sakuma Manami, Sakuma Ryuichi’s mother

*~*~*

 

“ _I don’t know what happened, one day he just became so…so…childlike yet (occasionally) sensual (instead of shy and quiet.) I think something happened to him, but I never found out exactly what it was, even though we three are closer than siblings. It’s the one thing that neither Ryu nor Tohma would ever talk about._

 

_Not even to me.”_

 

Ukai Noriko, backup vocalist and keyboardist for Nittle Grasper and longtime Sakuma Ryuichi friend

 

*~*~*

Tohma showed up at Ryuichi’s door on Monday to pick up the smaller teen as per their routine. Slightly worried about no one answering the door when he showed up on Saturday to pick up the mossy-haired lad, he had pondered the situation all that day and Sunday as well, figuring that he would find out when Ryuichi returned to school.

 

Instead, when Manami answered the door, the blond teen’s turquoise eyes widened momentarily, having not met her prior. He gave her a deep bow, no sign of astonishment on his face showing when he stood back up and introduced himself. “I am Seguchi Tohma, here to pick up Sakuma-kun for school, if you don’t mind, Ichimura-san.”

 

Surprised, Manami briefly tilted her head as she stepped aside to let the much taller blond in. It was quite apparent that she was on her way out the door while Tohma’s sharp eyes darted around the small, nearly bare apartment, noting what looked like dried blood on the floor as the blue-eyed beauty carrying what looked like a bag full of clothes next to her leg she bent over to pick up a box full of books.

 

Hefting the box, she explained, “Yes, Ryuichi has told me quite a bit about you, Seguchi-kun. I feel as if I know you, he’s told me so much. He tells me you two are best friends, something that I am very grateful to you for becoming. But I’m afraid that he’s not here. You see, we’ve moved, and he’s at our new home. Either way, he’s still too sore to go to school, so I’m keeping him home one more week.”

 

Puzzled by her statement of Ryuichi’s condition, the tall lad bowed once more before asking, “If I may be so bold, what occurred to Sakuma-kun that warrants him needing more than a week off from school?” he asked, holding out his arms as an offer to take the box. “I can take that, if you like, Ichimura-san,” he offered. Smiling her thanks, she handed the box to the golden lad and picked up the bag of clothes. Balancing the bag, she turned and locked the door, slid two keys off of the key ring, knelt and pushed them both under the door. Tohma raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as she turned back to the much taller boy.

 

“Come with me for a bit, Seguchi-kun, I’ll make sure you get to school on time. I bet Ryuichi will be happy to see you. He’s been really bored since I wouldn’t let him help me, I got a few friends to help me instead, but they had to work today,” she explained, leading him to a battered, older model compact car and opening the rear door for him. Placing the box in the back, she handed the bag to Tohma, who placed it alongside the box in the back seat and closed the door before they both climbed into the front. Making sure he was seat-belted in, she put the key in the ignition and pulled away without looking back. She was silent for a while as she drove, then, taking a deep breath and blowing it out, she began.

 

“Ryuichi was in an…accident this weekend. He was hit by a car, but thankfully, he’s going to be all right.” Paling at the news, Tohma noticed the stern look on Manami’s face as she spoke, but he wisely said nothing.

 

Manami drove until they were back in Tohma’s neighborhood, unknowingly passing his home and ending up a few streets away, to one of his neighbor’s extensive homes. Driving up to the gate, she waved and smiled at the security guard as she slowly drove through. She continued past the huge house and toward a much smaller, but no less nicer servants’ quarters. Pulling up in front of it, she parked and got out; going into the back seat for the bag of clothes as Tohma also exited the vehicle and picked up the box of books.

 

“This way, Seguchi-kun,” when she headed up to the front door and opened it, not using the key. The inside was bright and sunny, reflecting the day through the windows. Manami toed off her shoes and slid into a pair of brand-new slippers, waiting as Tohma did the same, and then headed up the front flight of stairs. Reaching the top, she went into a room and put down the bag, the blond boy following right behind her.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Seguchi-kun, I should have had you put those books down by the front door,” she said, tilting her head once again. The golden-haired lad smiled as he nodded his head once and quickly retraced his steps. He put the box of books down and rejoined Manami at the top of the stairs.

 

“I suppose you should see Ryuichi before I take you to school, Seguchi-kun,” she decided.

 

“It’s okay, Ichimura-san, I know where the school is from here. I know the neighborhood,” Tohma replied, smiling benignly.

 

Manami stood and thought for a moment before deciding. “Okay then, if you’re sure…” she answered, staring up at the much taller teen before smiling and turning away.

 

“Let me take you to his room, okay?” she said as she began to walk down the hallway. Passing by two doors, she stopped in front of the third.

 

“Ryuichi? You have company,” she warned, knocking on the door. A flurry of rustling was heard as she slowly opened the door. Ryuichi was just placing Kumagorou under the blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders and lap when he realized just who the tall boy was that stood behind his mother. He smiled at the pair as they stood at the doorway and instead placed the bunny on his lap.

 

“Hi Tohma!” Ryuichi chirped uncharacteristically, a shy yet happy smile on his face as he stiffly brought out the coloring books and crayons he had also hidden next to his legs. The olive-haired lad had a bandage wrapped around his otherwise visible bare body, swelling and bruising to his nose, two black eyes as well as healing bruises of various ages and a rather large bump on the back of his head that was easily noticed by Tohma’s sharp eyes when the olive-haired boy momentarily turned away.

 

“I’ll leave you two boys alone. I have to go to work,” Manami explained, shutting the bedroom door and walking back down the hallway to her door to change from her jeans and baggy t-shirt into her new house managerial clothes.

 

“Okay, Mom!” Ryuichi cried after her as he carefully scooted over and patted the bed next to him in order to give Tohma room to sit, an unusual childlike tone to his voice. The crayon box, which was on the bed next to him fell over, dumping half of its contents onto the coverlet. Stiffly scooping them up, the younger lad casually shoved them into the box and pushed the box over to the side of the bed as the golden-haired lad took the seat offered to him.

 

“Ryuichi-san, what happened? Ichimura-san told me you were hit by a car…” Tohma began, momentarily staring at the two black eyes and the swollen nose of the smaller teen.

 

Ryuichi hung his head for a moment before gazing up at Tohma, the familiar sad-serious gaze once again in his eyes. “My stepfather chased me into the street and I didn’t see the car that hit me until the last moment,” he explained.

 

Tohma gazed at the mossy-haired boy as Ryuichi paused.

 

Staring at the bunny in his lap, he continued. “We…didn’t exactly get along. He hit me…a…a lot. I existed, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t like that fact.” He paled and looked down at Kuma in his lap for a moment before picking up and hugging the bunny tight.

 

Glancing up at the blond and still wearing the serious expression, Ryuichi asked, “Didn’t you ever wonder why I sometimes wore long sleeves even when it was hot outside?”

 

Tohma gazed deep into Ryuichi’s eyes, unwavering. “I was sure you had your reasons, and that you would tell me in due time,” he explained in a gentle voice.

 

Wearing a thoughtful expression, Ryuichi brought the bunny up and did something the blond had never seen his visibly upset best friend do as the smaller boy began absently chewing on the plushie’s ear. No longer trying to hide his emotions, the ear fell unnoticed from his mouth as he continued speaking.

 

“My real dad was killed in a train accident when I was five. I don’t remember the actual accident; I only know that from what my mom said. I remember having nightmares, Mom said I had them for about a year.

 

“Mom married Ichimura-san when I was seven, and he started hitting me soon after. Mom pretended not to notice at first, especially when he kept insisting I was clumsy until one day when she walked in on him beating me when I was eight. I remember them having a huge fight, and Mom crying…and then she slept in my bed with me for a month. But…after that, he would hit me and then threaten to leave her alone with me and marry someone else, telling her that no one would want a woman with a kid. I…I guess she believed him…and so did I,” Ryuichi murmured, hugging onto the plushie bunny for dear life.

 

Tohma sat silently, showing no emotion as the olive-haired boy told his heartbreaking tale. The story over, Kumagorou had been hugged so hard that he was misshapen as he sat in Ryuichi's arms when the golden-haired lad leaned over to the smaller teen. Ryuichi looked over and up, a slight look of panic on his face as Tohma put his forehead against his best friend's, gazed into his eyes and told him in a low voice, “I assure you, he will never hit you again. That, I can promise you,” the older boy said in a reassuring voice.

 

“But how can you say that? You don’t even know where he is!” Ryuichi cried, his dark blue eyes seeming to stare into Tohma’s very soul before the older boy sat back, his own dark aqua eyes turning away at this brash new-found change in his best friend’s personality.

 

“I know, or I can at least surmise. I’m sure that isn’t too difficult to figure out. Now, Ryuichi-san, my question is, what would you like to see happen to him? ” the larger teen asked. Aware of his friend’s injured condition, he slowly got off the bed and stood up, waiting patiently for Ryuichi to resume speaking.

 

The mossy-haired boy was silent for a long time, apparently staring at the pink rabbit in his lap. Tohma straightened his deep blue school jacket and tie while he waited for a response.

 

When Ryuichi finally gazed up to stare once more into his best friend’s turquoise eyes, there existed steel behind the sapphire.

 

“I’d like for him to feel the same way I do now…beat up, sore and helpless, like he has often made me feel. I don’t think that’s possible. I’d also like to see him go to prison ...for a long time,” Ryuichi uttered in a low voice.

 

“If that is your wish, Ryuichi-san, then I shall make it so,” Tohma said, unblinking.

 

A slow smile that had not once speck of mirth spread upon the injured teen’s face before his expression shifted and became somewhat childlike. Speaking as if he never bore the look of seriousness mere seconds earlier, the olive-haired youth spoke, the unusual childlike tone once more in his voice.

 

“To-chan, did my Mom tell you that I didn’t know who she was when she first walked in to the hospital room? I pretended like I was asleep. She had to talk to me for a while before I remembered who she was. She said I had a concussion. The doctor said I was knocked out for a bit….” Pausing, Ryuichi spoke as if to himself. “I only remember having really weird dreams…” he said before shaking his head and smiling as if he hadn’t spoken the last sentence.

 

Rattled internally as he watched his best friend’s changing personalities as well as by the foreign familiarity of his personal name, Tohma waited until the olive-haired boy stopped speaking. In a quiet voice that hid his worry, the keyboardist explained, “You _did_ know that your stepfather works for my father’s company, didn’t you?” mentally bracing for what he was sure to be a backlash of emotion for never revealing this vital piece of information.

 

Instead, Ryuichi gave a long sigh and tilted his head to look once more up at Tohma. “Really?” he said in the child-like voice, now tired-sounding as he yawned and painfully lay back, placing his head on his pillow. “I’m kinda sleepy, To-chan...I’m going to take a nap now,” he murmured as if he hadn’t heard the last thing the older boy had revealed, instead snuggling with Kuma and again yawning wide.

 

Walking over to the bed, Tohma tenderly placed a second blanket from the foot of the bed around Ryuichi, who was by now snoring softly.

 

“I promise you, Ryuichi-san, you will never have to fear from Ichimura-san ever again,” he repeated in a malevolent voice as he gazed down protectively at the smaller teen.

 

Worry still etching his features, Tohma walked over to the desk on the opposite side of the room, pulled out the chair and sat down. Pulling out a schoolbook from his own bookbag, the blond-haired boy settled in to wait for his friend to awaken.

 

*~*~*~*~*

Some time later, Ryuichi awoke. Now facing the wall next to his bed, he stretched in a slow, careful and rather catlike full-body stretch, not yet noticing as Kumagorou fell from his side and off the bed, landing next to a green plushie tiger wearing a “Get Well Soon!” t-shirt.

 

“You dropped Kumagorou,” a familiar voice told him as both blankets joined the plushies on the floor, exposing to Tohma the full extent of the various stages of new and healing bruises his small friend had, the white of his briefs and bandage-wrapped ribs only serving to accent his many other injuries. Walking over to take the blankets off the floor, he picked the pink bunny up off the floor and held it out to Ryuichi as he slowly rolled over to look at the blond.

 

“Shouldn’t you have gone to school?” the mossy-haired boy asked in a sleepy drawl.

 

“No. My grades are excellent enough that my missing one day shouldn’t hurt me in any way. Besides, I couldn’t leave you here alone, could I? Your mother had to go to work and leave you. Someone had to be here in case you needed something,” Tohma explained in a calm tone.

 

“Oh,” was all Ryuichi could say as he stiffly sat up, wincing as he did. “I have to pee…uh…use the bathroom,” he confessed, blushing slightly.

 

“I’ll help you, if you wish,” the blond offered.

 

“No, I’ll be fine,” the much smaller boy said, slowly sitting and getting up off the bed, leaning over to grab a blanket from off the floor to wrap around himself. His legs, still stiff and bruised from the impact of the car, chose that moment to crumple, and if it wasn’t for Tohma, Ryuichi would have fallen head first into the floor.

 

“Maybe you _should_ help,” the mossy-haired boy muttered, blushing crimson as he was assisted back upright. Wrapping the blanket around his shoulders and body once more, he let his best friend help him limp to the restroom.

 

“Are you going to be okay, Ryuichi-san?” the golden-haired boy queried as he left Ryuichi leaning against the wall next to the toilet.

 

“I’ll be fine…just…give me a bit, okay?” the much smaller boy said as he stood panting against the wall, his small hands holding his right side as he tried to breathe around the two cracked ribs his tiny chest contained.

 

Watching unseen by Ryuichi, Tohma’s turquoise eyes narrowed at the thought of the abuse that his best friend had endured as the small boy, pale and sweating because of the pain in his legs and ribs managed to slow his breathing. Looking up, the injured teen just missed the deadly expression the blond had on his face just a second previously. Ryuichi nodded as he panted open-mouthed, so Tohma quietly left the younger teen to Nature’s Call, opting to stand outside the semi-closed door in case of any more difficulties.

 

Ryuichi, for the first time since his now-deceased father taught him how to urinate standing up at the tender age of 14 months, decided that it would be easier if he sat down to urinate instead. Easing himself carefully onto the cold seat of the toilet, he sat for a while and continued to try to catch his breath. While he sat and did his business, the teen hung his head while tears of frustration, hurt and anger began to roll off the tip of his nose. After crying for a time, he sniffled, slowly reached out for toilet paper and painfully blew his fractured nose before carefully getting up to wash and dry his hands and face. Limping, he made his way out of the expansive restroom as Tohma pushed himself off of the wall he had been leaning against next to the door and walked next to the younger teen, making himself available to lend a hand should Ryuichi need it.

 

“Tohma? Were you kidding me when you said that Kenji-san worked for your father’s company? He hates his job.” Ryuichi asked, managing to make it back to the bedroom unassisted by moving slowly.

 

“Kidding? No, something like that I would never “kid” about, Ryuichi-san” was the answer as they walked toward the bed. Ryuichi barely managed to make it to the side of the bed before his feet tangled up in the blanket he was wearing and once more caused him to begin to fall nose first toward the floor. The golden-haired boy, once again administering a saving arm to prevent the bruised lad from falling, caught him instead, gently picking him up and sitting him on the bed before taking a seat next to him.

 

Ryuichi, his teenaged groin suddenly responding to their close proximity, quickly placed his blanket in his lap to camouflage the now unwanted bodily response.

 

“Is there a problem, Ryuichi-san?” Tohma asked, noticing the other teen’s red face and the way he held the blanket in his lap.

 

“No…no, Tohma. I’m…I’m fine,” was the response as Ryuichi tried to make his mind blank while he pulled even more of the blanket around himself. In his nervousness and want and embarrassment, the blanket, instead of hiding Ryuichi’s lap, fell onto the floor, exposing the teen’s physical excitement.

 

“Oh…so I see,” Tohma replied, gazing down into the mossy-haired boy’s lap as he put his hands over his erection. The older teen said nothing, instead looking into Ryuichi’s wide azure eyes for a long moment, causing the younger teen to blush even more.

 

“If you like, I can…help you with that as well, Ryuichi-san,” Tohma offered as he covered his own nervousness by speaking slowly, his own brilliant turquoise eyes unwavering.

 

“What…what do you mean?” Ryuichi whispered hoarsely.

 

“I am offering to help rid you of what to me, seems like an unwilling bodily reaction, Ryuichi-san. I…can help you forget the pain you’re currently feeling, even if its temporarily,” the blond said simply, their eyes still locked together.

 

“How…how are you going to do that?” the mossy-haired teen asked, unsure of what to expect.

 

“Like this,” Tohma replied as he reached inside the smaller boy’s briefs and wrapped his slender fingers around his best friend’s hard shaft. Ryuichi’s body arched slightly backward and he gasped when he felt the pianist’s strong yet gentle fingers on his most intimate body part. Speechless, the younger teen watched his lap wide-eyed as Tohma began to move the foreskin up and down.

 

In his wildest dreams, Ryuichi had never imagined that his best friend, the one who he had loved since he first laid sight onto would _ever_ _actually do_ anything so needed, so desired, so…so...sensual.

 

His body falling uncontrollably backwards, Ryuichi’s eyes rolled back and closed as his body’s aches and pains truly were forgotten for a time. Moaning musically at the gentle yet firm caressing he was receiving, the smaller boy’s heart pounded as various emotions made themselves felt. Surprise, embarrassment, joy, want,and disbelief all made themselves known before Ryuichi orgasmed after only a few minutes of stroking, coating Tohma’s free hand, which the older teen had wisely placed over top of the twitching member to prevent the fluid from getting on the bandages wrapping Ryuichi's ribs.

 

‘ _Is this really happening? Was this another dream? Did Tohma really…’_ the olive-haired teen thought to himself as he panted and  carefully sat up just in time to watch as the beautiful blond once again did something completely unexpected, Ryuichi’s eyes widening in astonishment as he watched. 

 

Tohma, smiling sweetly at him, looked down at his semen-covered hand and then began to lick up the now rapidly thickening white fluid. Ryuichi said nothing as he watched the pink catlike tongue sensually lick the slender hand clean before Tohma turned his dark aqua eyes to gaze into Ryuichi’s own sapphire ones, a delighted expression on his pale angelic face.

 

“I have wanted to taste you ever since we first met, Ryuichi-san,” the golden boy admitted in a husky voice as he finished licking his hand and bent close to kiss the younger teen. Ryuichi, still unsure as what to do, didn’t budge when Tohma’s pink, nearly girl-full lips touched his own, instead causing him to briefly close his eyes before he realized _exactly what was happening_ and his arms, seemingly of their own volition, shoved the beautiful teen away.

 

“TOHMA! But…but…you’re a _boy!”_ Ryuichi accurately pointed out as he realized that his first kiss had been given to him by another male, albeit the one he was hopelessly in love with.

 

“And I’m gay,” Tohma replied, his pale cheeks finally showing a hint of blush.

 

“You’re…you’re _gay?”_ Ryuichi repeated as he stared at his best friend, watching as the older teen nodded once, his cheeks blushing even redder.

 

“I’ve not told you because…well….because I’ve not said it out loud before. You’re the first one I’ve told, Ryuichi-san. Others might harass or even ostracize me if they find out, so I will trust you, as my best friend to keep it secret,” Tohma asked as for the first time a pleading note entered his voice.

 

“Uh…sure, Tohma, of course.” Ryuichi murmured, his mind whirling as it attempted to wrap around everything that had just happened. So much occurring in so short a time was quite a lot for the olive-haired teen to comprehend so instead he lay back on the bed next to his best friend, the blanket that started it all but forgotten as his legs dangled next to Tohma’s much longer ones.

 

“Would…you like to put your head in my lap, Ryuichi-san? I promise I won’t expect anything from you, I just would like to…hold you,” Tohma admitted, his cheeks still slightly tinted red.

 

Wordlessly, Ryuichi slowly got up on all fours and, settling down on his relatively less injured left side, placed his head mid-thigh and facing away from the blond to stare at the wall across the room. He sighed thoughtfully as the larger boy tenderly brushed a messy lock of olive hair out of his face and then put his hand down on his shoulder.

 

Relaxing, enjoying each others company, Ryuichi knew that their relationship had just moved to a new level.

 

“I could fall asleep here,” the olive-haired teen confessed languidly after they had been quiet for some time, his eyes now half-closed.

 

“I would be honored if you did, Ryuichi-san,” Tohma replied gently.

 

“But…I’m not tired, Tohma. How could I be?” Ryuichi admitted, slowly getting up on his knees to sit on his haunches and stare into the blond’s turquoise eyes. Puzzled, Tohma gazed back, not sure what to expect as Ryuichi shyly bent in close. Closing his eyes, the older teen sighed as Ryuichi, wary of his cracked ribs, placed his arms around Tohma, leaned in close and kissed the beautiful teen’s rosy lips for a brief instant before slowly pulling back to boldly stare once more into his face as the gorgeous boy continued to sit still, his eyes closed while he savored the feelings left over by the kiss.

 

“You knew, didn’t you? You knew I was in love with you from the first time I laid eyes on you, didn’t you Tohma?” the smaller boy asked quietly.

 

“Yes, I admit I...highly suspected something like that, Ryuichi-san,” Tohma replied in a soft voice, his blond-lashed eyes still closed as if afraid of the tiny boy’s real reaction. “But the feeling was mutual, so it was only natural that we would become friends,” he replied as he gradually opened his eyes to gaze once more into Ryuichi’s own. For a moment, nothing was said as the pair each sought to figure out what to say next, their eyes locked.

 

“Would…you like to touch me, Ryuichi-san…there?” the older teen asked softly as he broke the stare to glance down at the hardness visible through his beige uniform pants.

 

Blushing, Ryuichi glanced down at Tohma’s groin before bringing his eyes back to look into his best friend’s eyes. “Should I…uh..can I?” he asked before nodding shyly, his own still swollen face lightly flushed.

 

Tentatively, he reached down to touch the bulge, unsure how he should do so, having never touched anyone else but himself in that way.

 

“Don’t worry, Ryuichi-san, it won’t bite, I promise,” Tohma murmured, his voice once again husky with want.

 

‘ _I’ve wanted to touch him for so long,’_ Ryuichi thought to himself. _‘But now that I have the chance, what should I do next?’_

 

Gathering his courage, the mossy-haired teen once again pushed aside his uncertainty and first began to unfasten Tohma’s belt, then feeling courageous, his pants, slowly pulling them down to his knees when the older teen lifted his hips to assist. Reaching inside of the golden boy’s cream-colored silk boxers, Ryuichi’s smaller fingers tentatively made contact with his best friend’s member, lightly tracing along the velvety surface. The larger teen leaned back onto his elbows, shuddering as he watched, his mouth slightly open.

 

Curious and having never seen anyone else up close, Ryuichi’s fingers made their way up the shaft as he examined Tohma. Feeling the mushroom-shaped head underneath the foreskin, he unhurriedly slid it back before realizing that it was leaking clear liquid. Touching the slick fluid, he realized that it was a little gummy, yet slippery.

 

Never having paid attention to himself during masturbation, this was truly a new experience as he brought his fingers to his lips and tasted them. Deciding that he liked the taste, he leaned in for more, running his tongue catlike along the slit in the top as if licking a lollipop and causing Tohma to moan.

 

Surprised at having actually momentarily forgotten that there was a person behind the body part, Ryuichi sat back onto his haunches, his eyes wide as he looked at the blond.

 

“Are you okay, Tohma? Did I hurt you?” he asked, a slight hint of worry in his voice.

 

“No Ryuichi-san…quite the contrary,” was the answer as Tohma gazed back, his eyes half-lidded and his face flushed as a slight smile played across his full lips.

 

“Okay,” Ryuichi replied as he went back to his exploration. Leaning over the pianist once more, he took the member into his small hands as if holding a baseball bat and stroked it a few times, his fingers brushing against curly blond strands before stopping.

 

Noticing the testicles as they shifted slightly in their sack, he slowly leaned closer to watch them as they pulled closer to Tohma’s body due to his excitement. Knowing how sensitive they were when accidentally or even purposely hit, he gently cupped them into his hands, running a thumb across the lightly furred skin that covered them.

 

Bending closer, he smelled a hint of musk. Realizing that this was Tohma’s true scent, unfettered by deodorant or cologne, he inhaled deep and closed his eyes, continuing to hold onto Tohma’s balls as if holding a fragile egg. Opening his eyes again, he smiled.

 

“I like how these feel. They’re soft,” he explained, his thumbs running along the skin as he looked over at Tohma, who gazed at him as if he was the most beloved person in the world. Blushing at the unexpected attention, Ryuichi smiled shyly at the golden-haired teen, who returned the smile. Gently removing his hands, he unhurriedly crawled over to Tohma, who continued to watch as Ryuichi bowed over him and kissed him yet again.

 

Crawling leisurely back to Tohma’s groin, he bent over and once again placed his diminutive hands around Tohma’s shaft. Slowly at first, he began to stroke the foreskin up and down, before gradually speeding up. Knowing that he himself loved it when he twisted his hands slightly as he slid them up and down, Ryuichi did so to Tohma, causing him to gasp in surprise and pleasure at the new and unexpected movement. The smaller teen, his ears sharp from years of listening for his fiery stepfather and for the lyrics of the countless radio rock songs he loved to sing along with, used that talent to listen to the changes in Tohma’s breathing, responding faster or slower as the golden-haired boy finally fully relaxed back and began to thrust his hips.

 

Rapidly moving the now self-lubricated foreskin back and forth, Ryuichi once more leaned down and leisurely ran his tongue across the tip of Tohma’s member, causing the larger boy to spasm and cum hard, moaning long and low as he did.

 

Surprised, Ryuichi stopped the movement to swallow, sit back and rub at his face as some of the warm fluid hit the younger teen in his face and mouth.

 

Embarrassed and still breathless from the intense orgasm, Tohma sat up and reached for the nearby blanket to wipe the liquid off of the smaller boy’s face.

 

“I’m terribly sorry Ryuichi-san, I should have warned you, but when you licked me just now it was at just the right time…”

 

Over his initial surprise and now curious, Ryuichi licked at the semen on his palm, much like he saw Tohma do earlier.

 

“I…I could get used to this taste,” he admitted bashfully as he turned to smile at the golden-haired boy before licking a bit more.

 

“You could?” Tohma replied as he continued to dab at Ryuichi, a shy smile on his own countenance as he finished cleaning up the rapidly thickening fluid.

 

“Yeah. It doesn’t taste how I expected, but its okay because….” the olive-haired teen stopped speaking and turned away, causing Tohma to momentarily wonder.

 

“Because why, Ryuichi-san?” Tohma said, slowly turning Ryuichi’s face back towards him and laying a tender kiss on his lips before leaning slightly back and waiting for an answer, his hand still on the smaller boy’s chin.

 

Ryuichi was silent for a moment, his thoughts turned inward as the blond waited patiently for an answer, Tohma’s hand slowly falling away as they once more lock eyes.

 

“Because I want…to be your boyfriend…and…your lover,” the small teen finally admitted in a soft voice, dark sapphire eyes large with fear and uncertainty at how his proclamation would be responded to.

 

Tohma searched Ryuichi’s wide eyes silently for a few moments before answering.

 

“Then I guess we’re now dating, Ryuichi-san,” he said breathily, a loving smile adorning the stunningly gorgeous older teen’s face before he leaned in and kissed him again on the lips, gently pushing his tongue into the smaller boy’s mouth.

 

Ryuichi experiencing his first French kiss, was unsure as to what to do so he did what he thought was the only thing to do, he opened his mouth wider. Moving his hand from Ryuichi’s chin to his cheek, Tohma hesitantly touched Ryuichi’s tongue with his own, drawing forth a content sigh from the much smaller lad as he closed his eyes and relaxed into Tohma’s strong arms.

 

For the first time since his father died, Ryuichi felt as if he would be protected from monsters.

 

*~*~*~*~*

After Manami’s return from work and Tohma’s departure for the day, Ryuichi, still feeling the happy aftereffects of what had transpired earlier, walked around as if in a stupor. Still in her work clothes, Manami, noticing how unusual her son was acting as she cooked, chalked it up to the pain medication the lad had been prescribed.

 

Unknown to his Mom, Ryuichi was still experiencing the afterglow of his fondest wish coming true, that of becoming Tohma’s boyfriend.

 

Placing their full dinner plates on the table and pouring them both cups of hot tea, she watched as Ryuichi made his way to the table, seemingly still in a daze.

 

“Ryu-kun? Are you in pain? Do you need any more medication?” she asked, her chopsticks hovering when the boy, not paying attention, scooped a spoonful of salt into his oolong tea.

 

“Hunh? Uh, no Mom, I’m okay. Just….thinking,” he said as he sipped the tea, made a face and gulped half of it down anyway.

 

“Okay, Ryu-kun, if you say so,” she said, momentarily furrowing her pretty brow with worry before watching her son gobble down his fish and rice. Sighing as he ate closer to his normal, she picked up a piece of vegetable and held it in front of her as she watched him eat.

 

“I saw Seguchi-kun leave. Did he help you today?” she asked in an attempt to start a conversation with her normally talkative son.

 

Ryuichi, who was in the process of drinking more of the salted tea, swallowed the wrong way, causing him to choke and sputter as he spit some of it out onto his plate, holding his still sore ribs as he did.

 

Alarmed, Manami hurriedly got up out of her chair and went around to gently pat the lad on the back as he continued to cough. After a little bit, he managed to get himself under control and wiped carefully at his watering eyes with his napkin, gasping at the rib pain.

 

“Are you _sure_ you’re okay Ryuichi?” she queried once he was able to talk.

 

“I’m fine Mom, really I am. Tohma-senpai…kept me company and we did a lot of talking…studying and…playing,” he finally replied gingerly, blushing slightly as he wiped his mouth while she took his plate to the sink.

 

“I’m surprised that a boy as mature as Seguchi-kun still plays,” she said absently, getting a fresh plate from the cabinet and refilling it with food, missing Ryuichi’s response as he swallowed and thought fast as to how to reply. Not wanting to lie, yet not wanting to tell his mother what _really_ happened while she was at work, he decided to answer by being truthful yet vague.

 

“We talked and played and then talked some more. I showed him some of my...toys and we talked about how…toys…have changed since we were little,” he explained, his face turning red as she finished with his plate and placed it in front of him before taking his cup and dumping it in the sink, somehow not noticing his state of embarrassment.

 

“I’m just so glad that you have such a nice boy as your friend, Ryu-kun,” she said, pouring tea into a fresh cup and placing it in front of him before retaking her seat. By the time she had finished giving him everything, he had managed to get his embarrassment as well as his rib pain under control, and except for a slight flush, he was once again able to continue eating.

 

“I’m glad I have a nice boy as my…friend too, Mom,” he said, his heart pounding with love as he pictured the exquisite blond in his mind while Manami continued with her dinner.

 

“You’ve needed a good friend as well as a good role model. You told me before that he is an A-student, and I know he’s been tutoring you. Your grades are coming along nicely, by the way. Seguchi-kun’s also extremely polite as well. I think you can learn a lot from him. You said a while ago that he also plays piano, do you know what his plans for the future are? Is he going to become a concert pianist?”

 

Chewing thoughtfully, Ryuichi gazed down into his plate. Trying to provide for the family had made it so that Manami was often late in returning home, and being so busy with after school practices, homework and studying to keep up his grades, Ryuichi realized that he had neglected to tell his mother about the cultural fair and the concert that they were going to perform.

 

Telling his mother about it now was as good a time as any.

 

“He’s playing piano at the school’s cultural fair in a few weeks,” he began just as the phone rang. The two of them stared at it for a moment as it rang a second time.

 

“The only one that has this number right now is my employer. Hold that thought, I’ll be right back,” she promised, getting up from the table.

 

Gathering his thoughts as she spoke, Ryuichi puzzled as to how to explain to his mother that he was the lead singer in the band Noisy Little Grasper. Not sure how she would respond, but assuming that she might give him grief over their practices taking time away from his studying, he hung his head as he brainstormed as to how to tell her he had been studying hard before each practice without telling her. Once again deciding that the truth was the best way to go, he continued eating until she was done with her call. Feeling the blood drain from behind olive-colored bangs, he watched as she retook her seat.

 

“I’m sorry Ryu-kun, what were you saying?” she asked as she picked up her chopsticks, then a piece of her fish.

 

Ryuichi raised his head to stare into her eyes, mentally bracing himself for her reaction. “Tohma’s playing piano in the cultural fair. He, Noriko and I started a band and I’m singing in it,” he replied in a low yet steady voice.

 

Manami raised her head to gaze into her normally shy son’s now unfathomable sapphire eyes for a long moment before speaking. The teen returning the gaze, nervous yet determined to do just as he had just declared.

 

“You WILL keep up with your schoolwork, am I right Ryuichi?” she said, the use of his full name the only sign of her reluctance.

 

“Tohma will start bringing me my schoolwork tomorrow and he will continue to tutor me,” was the answer.

 

“And _when_ I decide to let you return to school, you will keep out of trouble?” she asked, neither person’s gaze wavering as if in a contest of nerves.

 

“No trouble of any kind, I promise,” was the unhesitant reply.

 

“And I _will_ get a ticket to your concert,” she stated, a mischievous twinkle in her own sapphire eyes as she finally gave her consent. Ryuichi leaned carefully forward towards his mother.

 

“And have my number one fan miss my first concert if I didn‘t?” he replied, grinning broadly.

 

“Its about time I heard you sing with _a live_ band. Singing along with the radio just doesn’t cut it! ” Manami said, breaking the staring contest and smiling as she picked up her tea cup and took a sip.

 

Blushing but proud of her response, Ryuichi sat back and picked up his tea cup. Raising it in a toast, he said, “May Noisy Little Grasper have the best concert EVER!”

 

Manami gazed across the table, a slight frown on her face as she tapped his cup with hers, sipping from it before putting it down and returning to her meal.

 

“Don’t you think that’s a rather….long…name for your band, Ryu-kun?” she asked, causing him to drop his arm a bit. Placing his cup on the table, the mossy-haired teen picked up his chopsticks.

 

“I thought so too, but I didn’t want to say. But, we each gave a word to the band’s name. I don’t know how to shorten it without causing hurt feelings.

 

Manami nodded as she raised her tea cup.

 

“Well then, I propose a toast to Noisy Little Grasper. May the Gods see to it that you have a successful concert!” she said, her tone serious as Ryuichi once more raised his cup to clink it against hers.

 

“And may Tohma, Noriko and I be friends _forever_!” he added, lowering his cup to his lips and draining it.

 

“Noriko, hunh? You have a girl in your band?” the pretty woman queried as she sipped at her tea, glancing over her cup at her son.

 

“Yeah, she’s a phenomenal synthesizer player! Not as good as Tohma, of course, but she took him away from his classical style for a bit and taught him how to truly _rock_!” he explained as he attacked his food once again.

 

Not showing how relieved that her normally bashful son was finally interacting with a person of the opposite sex, Manami thoughtfully ate her food, watching as she always did as her boy finished eating his food, cleared his plate and slowly got up for seconds. With his back still to her, she asked the question that had been on her mind since the synthesizer player was mentioned.

 

“So, are you dating Noriko, Ryuichi?”

 

Still facing away as she asked her question, Ryuichi stiffened, the full rice scoop still in one hand.

 

“Uh…no. I’m…interested in someone else,” he decided to say, once again going vague with his answers and hoping that she wouldn’t pry any further as he put the rice on his plate.

 

He was wrong.

 

“You are? So, when do I get to meet her?” she asked, picking up more food and chewing it slowly while she waited for an answer.

 

No longer hungry, Ryuichi returned the rice to the cooker and placed his plate in the sink. Sighing deeply and wincing as his injured ribs twinged, he slowly retook his seat.

 

“You…already have,” he admitted, his bangs hiding his pale face before raising his head to once more gaze squarely at her.

 

Not quite sure of where her only child was heading, Manami tilted her head slightly, not understanding the reaction she was getting.

 

“I have? But the only one of your friends I’ve met so far was Seguchi-kun….oh,” she said, understanding flooding her voice, her own dinner forgotten.

 

As still as a statue, Ryuichi looked down at his lap and braced himself for the onslaught he was positive was about to come.

 

“Ryuichi. Look at me,” Manami commanded in a quiet, yet firm voice. The teen looked up at her, paired sapphire eyes locked together.

 

“First and foremost, Ryuichi,” she began gently. “I want you to know that I love you no matter what. I just want you to know that.”

 

“I know that Mom,” Ryuichi softly replied, his eyes still locked on Manami’s as he waited for the other shoe to drop.

 

“But…I also think that any sort of…relationship…that you two may have other than friendship should be…kept hidden. Many people today don’t like the idea of two men dating. They might try to…to _hurt_ you because of their disapproval, not to mention the…diseases…that people seem to think that only….gay…men get,” she said, not wanting to actually say the word “AIDS.”

 

Silent as Manami spoke, Ryuichi could only listen.

 

“I am NOT going to tell you who you can and can’t date. Having dealt with the grief my parents gave me for falling in love with your father the musician, I know what its like to have someone put you through hell because of who your heart chose. My father and I don’t speak to this day, which is why you’ve never met them,” she said quietly.

 

Her mind wandered back to how she felt when she woke up from a late nap to find her son's pink bunny sitting on the hospital nightstand the night Ryuichi was born. She remembered how sad and hurt she felt that her parents hadn't woken her when they visited and dropped off the hand-made plushie, knowing that her mother had worked so hard to make him.

 

She sighed and sat quietly for a moment before resuming.

 

“But, I’m also not going to deny that I still hope for grandchildren someday,” she said, a slight smile on her face.

 

Getting up from the table, Ryuichi hurried around it and carefully threw his arms around Manami.

 

“Even if I have to adopt,” he told her, the pair giggling as the tension in the room broke.

 

 

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tsuzuku

(To Be Continued)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know the laws in Japan as to how child abuse would have been handled, much less how they were handled in the 1980’s, but I truly hope that they would have had some way to deal with an adult that abuses a child, especially in public.
> 
> For those of you that might say Tohma’s out of character, this story takes place while he was still…demonstrative, lets just say. Besides, we ALL know that Tohma would do ANYTHING for “his Ryuichi-san,” right?
> 
> Gelfling21, not only were you my inspiration for this chapter, you were my sounding board and my alpha, as well as my beta. I hope that you like the lemon you helped inspire. <3

**Author's Note:**

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
> Songs mentioned in this track:  
> ٭Ave Maria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USXbYYSlWOw  
> ٭‘A Kind of Magic’ by Queen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWf5BLUOhNM
> 
> For more details of the stages a butterfly go through, see this article:  
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly#The_four-stage_lifecycle  
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


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